Then Comes The Baby
by narutorox711
Summary: A collection of short stories. You know how this ends, but the end tells you nothing unless you know how it got there. Prepare to become more emotionally connected to the Naruto universe than you ever dreamed possible.
1. Neji and Naomi

**Neji + Naomi**

"Here you are, Naomi." Neji said as he handed Naomi some pills.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm starting you on a vitamin regiment." She blinked her eyes a few times. '_Why did the good-looking one have to come with a weird streak?'_ She thought.

"What are these, exactly?" She asked, taking them from his hand as if they were jelly beans.

"You have vitamin D, C, apple cider vinegar, cod liver oil, your…you know..._pill_ and this is either calcium or…well, I don't know what that one is." He said, pointing at one, and shrugging his shoulders. "Take them, it's good for you." He set a glass of water down in front of her and smiled.

"Well, thanks." She said, popping them into her mouth. Neji let out a breath he had been holding in.

"So I'm meeting Lee today, I'll see you at diner?" He said, heading towards the door.

"What, again? You've seen him every day this week. Don't you have anything else to do?" You asked.

"No, I train best with him. Don't you have plans today? Women are always busy with something."

"No, I was going to go for a run, that's all."

"Okay, I'll see you tonight." Neji kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the apartment. "I love you!" He called as he shut the door.

"Yeah, whatever." Naomi muttered. She looked at the glass of water he had given her. "He's so weird!"

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After her run she wandered into town to bump into people. As much as she liked Neji, he was always busy and she relied on her friends to keep her company...at least during the day. At night Neji always paid attention to her. "Ino!" She said, walking into the flower shop.

"Oh my god, Naomi! Mimi, come here, guess what!" Naomi made a face of mock surprise and interest.

"Ha ha! What is it?"

"Sakura is pregnant!"

"What the hell?"

"Yeah!"

"Wow, she is so old." Ino frowned.

"She's not old. Think about it; Neji is a year older than her. Sakura is married and expecting."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying…when are you thinking of starting your family?"

"I'm 18.!"

"Yeah, but Neji is 25." '_Is he really? I didn't notice. He's so old!_' Naomi thought.

"He doesn't," Naomi trailed off, unsure about what Neji wanted.

"Are you sure he doesn't want a family? You don't look so sure!" Ino playfully poked her shoulder, but stopped when she saw how sad Naomi looked.

"Ino, I don't know if Neji and I are even a sure thing." She looked at Ino's large blue eyes. Ino stared incredulously at Naomi and shook her head.

"Oh, Mimi..." Ino said. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened. I just don't feel that close to him. Some days it's like he's a stranger to me." She thought about his bizarre behaviour this morning. "I don't even know him."

"Uh, are you two having sex?" Naomi nodded. "How often?"

"Like, every night. That part is fine. Better than fine, trust me, but it's how he acts." She felt hot tears welling up in her eyes. "Ino, I don't even know him."

"Forget that, you're not supposed to know everything! If you did, imagine how boring things would be." Naomi shrugged her shoulders and petted the leaves of a nearby aloe vera plant. "Mimi, he loves you. No matter how strange he might act or what he might say, know that he really loves you." Naomi began to really cry this time.

"Ino," She choked. "I don't love him the way that he loves me."

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It had been a few weeks since her vitamin regiment started. She noticed a few small changes; her hair was shinier, she felt she had a little more energy, and somehow her breasts got larger. "They're huge," She muttered, trying to squeeze into her c-cup bra that fit just last month. Suddenly she felt hot, dizzy and nauseous. Neji walked back into her bedroom. He had been waiting downstairs, the two of them needed to go grocery shopping, but Naomi was taking forever to put her clothes on.

"Naomi, what's wrong?"

"I squeezed too hard!" She said. Neji watched her pathetically try and put her bra on like an awkard pre-teen. She frowned and let the braw fall to the ground. She grabbed a t-shirt off the floor and pulled it over her head, but it was backwards. She didn't care as she walked into their ensuite to sit by the toilet. Neji followed her in and stood at the doorway. He was concerned when he saw Naomi sitting by the toilet, looking like she wanted to puke.

"I feel sick," She told Neji. "I tried to fit into this stupid bra and I," She slowly got up on her knees and tossed her cookies into the toilet. "Fuck myself. I think I squeezed myself until I puked."

"Are you okay?"

"It's all so dizzy. Quit doing that," She said.

"Doing what?" Neji asked, concerned.

"Pacing, stop pacing. Stay still."

"I am still, darling."

"Oh," The room spun and she sat down on the floor to keep steady. Neji walked inside and crouched on the floor in front of her.

"Can I take a look at you?"

"I don't like it when you do that."

"It's nothing I haven't seen." He said, with a knowing smirk.

"Stop that!" She yelled. Neji was startled. "Don't say things like that!"

"Fuck! What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? Who the fuck are you? You're the weird one, with your fucking boyfriend Lee and those fucking vitamins." Naomi stood up and backed away from Neji. She was so angry all of a sudden and was begging for a fight. They'd never had one before. Not a real one at least. For no real good reason, Naomi wanted Neji to hurt.

"I gave you those vitamins so I could have an excuse to hand you your birth control pill. I've been switching it all month." Neji's voice darkened and he stared at her hard. Naomi's mouth was dry and open with shock. A horrible realization was washing over her. "Your breasts getting bigger, your puking, the woozy feeling, and even the fucking attitude; it's all because you're pregnant."

"No,"

"With my child." Her jaw quivered but she just bit her lip. She would not cry in front of him.

"You're a monster. A fucking monster. FUCK YOU!" She screamed. "If you think this kid is yours, you are wrong. It's mine. And they won't even know your name."

"Calm down, Naomi." Hot tears streamed down her face.

"Why," She whispered. "How could you do this to me?"

"I did it for US!" Neji shouted. He knocked all of the bottles and containers off of the bathroom counter with one swipe of his arm. All of them, his after shave, her grandmother's perfume, all shattered on the tiled floor. She jumped and wrapped her arms around herself, afraid.

"I love you!" He said, still shouting. "I would die for you, I would sooner kill myself than ever cause you any harm. But you don't love me the way that I love you." His voice became quiet and his chest heaved with heavy sobs. "I thought if you were pregnant, you would marry me, and we could really be together."

"Neji You're so stupid!" She walked over to him across the broken glass bottles. "You're so stupid!" She grabbed on to him and held him the way she had always wanted to. "You're so stupid," She whispered. He held on to her, his arms tight around her waist. She tucked her head under Neji's and played gently with his long silk hair. Naomi felt the tears on her face dry and she felt Neji's breathing come back to normal.

"I'm sorry," He said.

"Me too, I've been so cold."

"I love you."

"I know, I love you too."

"Do you still feel sick?" He asked. He pushed her back and looked at her face, brushing hair away from her eyes. She nodded her head. The queasy feeling was still there. "Let's go lie down, I'll make tea." He put his arm behind her and they walked into the living room. She sat on the couch, letting out a heavy sigh and he walked over to the kitchen and put the kettle on. She pulled her knees up under her chin and watched him. He came over to the couch, put a blanket around her, and sat down, waiting for the water to boil.

"Neji,"

"Yes, Mimi?"

"Were you serious about wanting to get married?" He nodded and put his arm around her.

"I would like that very much." He said. He sounded far off, like he wasn't really there. He got up as the kettle whistled and brought back her tea. She put it on the coffee table and cuddled up next to him when he sat down again. He put his arm around her, absently rubbing her back. Hel looked like he was far away somewhere. Naomi watched his stone-cold poker face staring off into the distance.

"Neji, where are you?"

"I'm right here."

"No you're not. Really be here. Please." He turned to face her and the distant look in his eyes was gone. "That's better." He smiled weakly at her as she drank her tea. She felt hot from the nausea, the tea, the blanket, and from Neji's firm hold. She took comfort in having his complete and undivided attention. This was all she needed, she just wanted him to even care that she was around. "Go get it." She told him.

"What?"

"Go and get it." She said. Neji was confused for a moment, but then without a word he went upstairs back into the bedroom. He came out again with a small box.

"How did you know?" He asked. He opened the box and she grinned. The ring was perfect. "How did you know I already had it?"

"I had a feeling. I guess I know you better now." She nudged him and stuck out her left arm for him. "Lemme put it on,"

"I'm serious, Naomi, I really want to marry you."

"Okay, I know. I want to get married, too. Now can I have it?" He pulled it out of the box and slipped it on her finger.

"How is it?" He asked. She didn't think a guy would be nervous about a thing like that, but she sensed that he was and he needed her approval.

"I love it. I wanted this all along, I just didn't know." Neji smiled, relieved. She giggled. "Wow, we're really going to be together."

"Yeah,"

"Like, for sure for sure together." She smiled. Maybe now she'd get more respect since she was Neji's fiancé and not just his hot younger girlfriend. But that was never what he wanted her for. A part of her liked being with an older guy and being used for sex and shown off around town, but it was never like that deep down. "I like being your fiancé way better than being your girlfriend."

"I like being your fiancé way better than being your sugar daddy."

"You are so not my sugar daddy." Naomi laughed. She became quiet again and stared at Neji's pale lavender eyes, trying to sense some kind of emotion from him. "Neji, we're having a baby." She said. "Are you happy?"

"Of course I am. It was my idea." He reminded her. "I'm not over emotional, Naomi. Get over that now or you never will."

"I could handle it if you were at least barely emotional."

"What would you have me do?"

"Just promise to let me into your head now and then."

"You know what I'm thinking right now?"

"What?"

"I think that you should take a nap while I go get our groceries." Neji smiled and got up off the couch. "And I'm thinking about how funny you look bra-less in a backward t-shirt."

"That's all?"

"Yeah. Men are simple creatures. I love you Naomi. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Run."

"Okay, I'll run." Neji headed for the door.

"I love you."

"I love you more." Neji said. She smiled and blew him a kiss. She watched him from the window running down their street.


	2. Naruto and Vesper

**Naruto + Vesper**

When Vesper first moved to Konoha from Iwa, she avoided Naruto like the plague. He was nothing like her. He was loud, extroverted, didn't have a care in the world, and was absolutely childish. Vesper just didn't care to know him. What she heard about him from others, however, painted a different picture. She felt like she understood him, and although she almost never spoke to him unless she had to, she felt that she had much in common with the hyperactive ninja. Sakura told Vesper all about him and some of her stories were simply heartbreaking; he never had parents, his best friend betrayed their village and ran away, and he was Konoha's jinchuriki. Through all that adversity Naruto managed to excel at life. All of Vesper's problems became small in comparison to his and she felt guilty for shutting him out before she even knew him.

One day Vesper asked Sakura for Naruto's address and set out to find him. She hoped to apologize and maybe get to know him. It was a little past noon when she stood outside his door and knocked softly. Naruto answered almost immediately. He whipped the door open and looked surprised to see her.

"Oh, Vesper. Do we have a mission?" He asked. Vesper shook her head.

"No. Are you busy today?" She asked. He blinked slowly.

"Why?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"Because if you aren't busy, I was wondering if you wanted to go do something with me."

"With you?"

"Yeah," She felt really awkward and pulled at the hem of her sleeve nervously. _'Maybe this was a bad idea.' _she thought. He didn't understand at all where this was going. "Uh, you know, like a date." She added. Naruto's eyes widened and he grinned.

"Really? A date? Right on! I'm not busy at all, I was just going to sleep all day." He stepped out of his apartment and closed the door behind him. "I know a great place for lunch." He said. "I hope you like Ramen!" He said. She giggled, Sakura had warned her about his favourite noodle place. Naruto looked surprised and he laughed too. "I didn't know you laughed!" He said. She laughed again and looked forward to what was sure to be the best date she ever had.

Slowly Vesper and Naruto grew to know each other more. He was so goofy and carefree; he was the best part of her day. On one of those days she had gotten into a huge fight with her brother. He told her not to come home again and she felt utterly depressed and rejected. Her life seemed to be one, big, endless, black cloud. But if that were the case, then Naruto was like the sun. He found her sulking in a café in town.

"Hi! I found you!" He said coming over and hugging her. She softly hugged back and gave him a weak smile. His grinning face fell as soon as he got a good look at her. "Vesper, are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just had a bad day." She said. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"Oh, princess…" Naruto's light seemed to falter as he shared her pain, something she never shared with anyone before him. "Do you want to come over?" He asked. She nodded and wiped a tear away from her face. She hadn't noticed she was crying until the tears were cold on her cheek. He reached his hand across the table and held hers tight, not letting go as he pulled her to her feet and left the café.

"I love it when you call me princess," She said. She saw him smile out of the corner of her eye. "What can I call you?" she asked playfully, swinging his arm with hers.

"I'd like it if you started calling me your boyfriend." He said in all seriousness. It was her turn to smile now. When she got to Naruto's apartment she sat on the couch with him and told him about her bad day and bitched about all the shit going on with her job, her family, her friends. Things seemed hopeless. Naruto patiently listened to every word she said. "That really sucks," He said as she wrapped up. He shifted on the couch to face her and put his arm around her, pulling her closer. "I know we haven't been together long," Naruto said. "But you're welcome to stay with me, you know. Like, indefinitely."

"Really?"

"It might be fun. I'd love having you around all the time. I wouldn't have to go crawling all over town to find you."

"Naruto, that would be like moving in together." She said doubtfully.

"Yeah!" Naruto said. He smiled and she couldn't help but smile back. "Come on, Vesper, you know you want to," He said teasingly.

"Okay, if you're sure." She said. He nodded quickly. "If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work and I'll just get my own place." She said more to herself than to him.

"It'll work." He said. He leaned in and kissed her.

When she moved in with Naruto she started to feel like they were a real couple. After checking in with Sakura, her official go-to-girl, she started giving dirty but envious looks to that Hinata girl whenever she saw her.

"Not only was she Naruto's first and only girlfriend," Sakura had said. "But she was his first…you know." She said. Needless to say, Vesper hated the girl, but that was natural. Naruto wasn't as sneaky in his inquiries because over dinner one day he asked her flat out.

"So were you and Sasuke actually together?" He asked. She saw he was trying to be casual, but he was nervous, and his chopsticks quivered in his hand. "No, we were just hanging out a lot. He really liked me for some reason, until I became friends with Sakura and other people" She said. "And to answer that question you don't want to ask me, I never slept with him." She said.

"I wasn't," He stopped. Then he laughed. "Thanks, that makes me feel better." She smiled, and thought of Hinata for some reason. "It doesn't matter, right? We're together now!" He said cheerfully. Now Hinata was drowning as Vesper butterfly-stroked past her. "You're not eating," Naruto said.

"I love you," Vesper said. Naruto dropped a piece of broccoli he was about to eat. He stared at her for a long time before he started smiling.

"Wow, you're so brave." He said. "I was afraid to say it." He reached for her hand across the table and stared into her eyes with a look she had never seen before. "I love you, too." He said.

Vesper and Naruto always had lots of fun together, but they had never gone all the way, and she thought this was the night. As Naruto kissed her, he had a hunger she didn't know he could have and he was doing all the right things. She could hardly keep it together.

"Oh, stop that," She said. She was trying to take his shirt off but he wouldn't let her. She was getting really impatient and the high she got from being so close to him was going to wear off if she didn't get it fast. The only thing to do was to take charge. She flipped him off of her and hastily ripped the shirt off his body so hard he got red marks on his arms from not putting them up quick enough. She laughed at the look on his face. "Are you frightened?" She asked, dragging one hand down his perfect chest while the other undid the button on his jeans with just two fingers.

"It'll take more than that," He said. Soon she was almost ready, it was just the matter of taking off his boxers. He hadn't even taken off her underwear, he was avoiding it all the while, pretending to be more interested in her breasts. She slid her hands down his boxers and wound her fingers around the waistband when he got a shock and pushed her away. He looked terrified, like she just said he was going to die.

"What is it?" She asked, still panting from having to rip off not only his clothing but hers.

"I, uh. I don't want to, uh. You know. It's not that, it's not you. It's just that I don't, I mean…I never…" He stopped and a flush crept into his face. She looked searchingly at him but she couldn't figure it out.

"Naruto, what am I doing wrong?" She asked, hurt.

"Nothing!" He said quickly. "Princess, you're not doing anything wrong. I just want to go a little slower. You're…you're scaring me."

"What?"

"Vesper, you're super hot. And you're scaring me. I've never, uh, done this before and it's too much all at once." She was confused.

"Naruto, are you a virgin?" She asked.

"You say that like it's a bad thing,"

"No it's not! I'm just surprised. I thought that you and Hinata,"

"Oh no, we never…"

"Wow. I'm so lucky. Oh, this is going to be great. I'm sorry if I scarred you." She said, petting naruto's cheek. "You've never done anything? Wow. This is great." She said. Naruto was still a little stiff, so she pulled her panties back on and pulled his t-shirt over her head. "If it makes you feel any better, I've never had sex either." She said. He laughed darkly.

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better." She cocked her eyebrow and shook her head.

"No, I'm serious. Why was it so hard for us to believe each other?"

"But you were so…"

"I was only acting, I wanted to impress you, I didn't want you to know." Vesper grabbed his hand and put it over her heart. "See? It's going a mile a minute. I was nervous, too." He smiled and she smiled back. "I love you."

"I love you." He said back. He kissed her and she pulled away to pet his face again. "Why are you grinning at me like that?"

"I can't help it, you're so handsome," Naruto's blush came back and he looked away and seemed contemplative. "Can I see it?" she asked rubbing his belly. He smirked.

"You want to see it?"

"Yeah, I just want to see, I want to know what it looks like."

"Sure," He said. "Why not."

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"That's why we're not playing show and tell anymore." She hardly expected sex was that painful. Once she saw Naruto's penis she had to touch it and then he got turned on and that turned her on until there was no going back. It was the best feeling in the world to be next to him with nothing in between, to have him share his body with her. She was so tired but she still couldn't keep her hands off him. It felt so nice to have his full weight on her, keeping her warm, and his strong arms had a vice grip around her. "I didn't know it went up like that."

"How else is it supposed to go in?"

"I don't know. It, like, got bigger and everything." Naruto laughed. "I learned more here in bed with you than I did from all those years in school," He laughed harder and then smiled.

"That was really great."

"Was it ever,"

"Did it hurt?"

"Yeah,"

"Oh, princess, really? Will it hurt every time?"

"I don't know, I don't think so. I think it gets better." She reached her hands down and wrapped them around his dick again, rubbing up and down. Naruto groaned and he grabbed a fist full of her hair as she rubbed her thumb over his tip. "This is so fun, can we do that again?"

"Really? It's kind of late," His mouth fell open in a silent moan as she felt his penis getting harder and harder in her hands. "Okay, Okay, stop. I can't take it." She smiled and opened her legs more so he could fit in between her thighs. He gave her one smooch before slowly moving his hips down on hers and he began clumsily pumping in and out again. After a long time he slowed down and collapsed on her again and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Oh," Naruto said.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, Just go to sleep, it's almost four in the morning." She found a comfortable spot lying on his chest and fell asleep.

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"Thanks for coming, Sakura. I really don't know what's wrong." Recently Vesper felt really nauseous, like sea sick, for no reason all day long. She asked Sakura to come over and check her out, just to make sure she was okay. It wasn't her idea, it was Naruto's. It was stressing him out that she was always sick, he seemed really nervous all the time.

"You're welcome, now let's see. Has your diet changed at all?"

"Yeah, I'm eating a lot more ramen and ice cream."

"Figures," Sakura mumbled. "You haven't hit your head recently? You don't have any wounds that might have become infected, even a cut on a finger, perhaps?"

"Nope and nope."

"When was your last period?" Vesper blinked twice.

"Period?"

"Yeah, when did she last menstruate?" Vesper couldn't remember. A long time though, she had been living with naruto for two months and she never had tampons or pads in his apartment.

"Oh, god. More than two months ago. I never realized." She said.

"Oh boy," Sakura sighed.

"What? No! Oh boy what?" Sakura rummaged through her bag for a while and produced what looked like a thermometer.

"Go in the bathroom, take off the cap and pee on it." She said solemnly. Vesper quickly did as she said and set the pregnancy test on the bathroom counter. She pulled her pants up again and opened the door for Sakura to come in. "It'll take a few minutes," She said softly. "Either way, you'll be fine." She said. The two were silent for a few moments when they heard Naruto come in.

"Hi girls. Sakura, did you-"

"IDIOT! I told you not to come back for half an hour! It's been ten minutes!" Sakura yelled at Naruto who pathetically defended himself as Vesper picked the test up in her shaky hand and read the result. It was positive. She tossed it in the trash and slid to the floor. She vaguely heard what Naruto and Sakura were saying but it was all muffled by the deafening screaming in her head.

"How dare you say that! I am a professional doctor and I will kick your ass if you call me a quack again!"

"Wait a sec, Vesper? Vesper what are you doing, princess?" Naruto crouched down on the floor in front of her. He picked up her hands that were folded on top of her knees and held them. Sakura stood in the doorway as Vesper gravely nodded to her. Sakura bit her lip and nodded her head.

"I'll go now," She said quietly.

"Vesper?" Naruto implored.

"Naru, Sakura found out what was wrong, and it's really bad." She said softly. She started to cry, not holding back the tears that were coming.

"What? You're not dying, are you? How could she figure that out in ten minutes, she's a quack. We'll go to the hospital-"

"I don't need a hospital, Naruto, and I'm not dying." Naruto brushed the hair out of her face and she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "I'm pregnant." She said. Naruto giggled.

"Really? That's all? I thought you might be. After all, we didn't use a condom."

"You realized that and didn't tell me?"

"What difference would it have made?"

"It's called the morning-after pill." She said. "Didn't they tell you about that in school." Naruto blushed.

"I kind of…remember," he mumbled.

"Aren't you angry at me?" she asked.

"Never, I could never be angry at you. You're my princess, I love you. Aren't you mad at me?"

"No." She said. "Yeah, a little."

"Okay, let me make it up to you." Naruto pulled a photo out of the back pocket of his jeans. It was a picture of him standing in front of a house giving the peace sign to the camera.

"This is that house on Roe street," She said, wiping her wet face some more. "Why are-"

"I bought it. I bought us a house." Naruto said excitedly.

"Why?"

"I don't want my princess to keep living in my tiny apartment with me. I know you don't like it. And how could we live here with a baby? We needed a house. Do you like it?"

"Like it? It's wonderful. You're the best, Naruto."

"Well, I do try." He smiled and picked her up to her feet, walking her over to the couch. She giggled.

"I can't believe I'm pregnant."

"Are you happy?"

"I think I'm in shock, but I'm so happy we have each other."

"Me too. I love you,"

"Love you, too." she said.


	3. Sasuke and Kita

**Sasuke + Kita**

Kita came from a family with time-honoured traditions. Everyone who became a shinobi had Navy training. She was the first female in her family born with the ability to mould chakra. Because of her sex, no one in her family expected much from her; perhaps she would become a medical ninja like the other female shinobi. But Kita was determined to join the Navy. She loved the water, she loved to sail with her brothers and sisters, and she loved to help people. The Navy was a natural choice. It was sad for her to leave home for so long, and say goodbye to her family and her best friend, but after three years living on boats, Kita was finally finished her training. She walked the plank from the boat to the dock and her knees buckled when she was on the dry land. She looked around for her friend who had come to get her from the port.

"Kita!"

"Temari! Oh it's so good to see you, look at you, you're so tan."

"Welcome back, Kita! My gosh you look great. You're so buff! Let's get you home, right?" Kita and Temari embraced. Kita loved her like a sister, and it was so good to see her after so many years away.

"So, how was it? I heard it's like really intense to be in the Navy. Anything _interesting_ happen?" The two of them had walked back to Temari's apartment from the port. Kita took a big gulp from her glass of wine and set it down.

"Woah, one question at a time! We have so much to catch up on! Okay yeah it was hard but it was fun and I really learned a lot about sailing, navigation and shit like that. It was great. I totally want to go back. But I have quite the story to tell you. Quite an _interesting_ story."

"Is it about a boy?"

"Yes,"

"Just what the doctor ordered. Who was he?" After another gulp of wine, Kita said

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"...it started when we became diving partners. We spent a lot of time together and got to know each other quickly. He was a really deep guy, awfully handsome, and very sexy. He had these dark eyes and a really tight ass; he was just really hot and I liked him a lot. When you're under water like that, you completely rely on your partner and you can't talk normally. You have to really be on the same frequency or things can get dangerous. So we got to know each other really fast. I told him pretty much everything about myself. He was, like, kind of mysterious at first, always vaguely answering questions. But as a few months went by he opened up a bit more and I got to know him better. After six months of this we had to take a mandatory three week holiday in this port that was really just this little shit hole of a town. I just figured I would read on the beach and sleep all the time, but Sasuke and I spent every minute together. We shared a hotel room, ate all our meals together, I swear, for those three weeks he was never more than three feet from me. He was starting to become my best friend, I really cared about him."

"After our mini-vacation, we started to learn sailing, but, as you know, I'm a total pro when it comes to sailing, so I was actually an instructor so I could make a little money on the side. Then things got kind of weird. He kissed me one night when I took him out on a small two man craft. Now that I think about it, maybe it was a mistake, but I thought it would have been okay since we were friends. What was I supposed to do, clearly he liked me a lot, and hey, he hot, so I just went along with him. Then he would kiss me all the time when we were alone together. He said I was perfect, the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, you know how it is. About two months of this goes by. By then we're back on the big ship running drills every day, and every two months we get a week off and Sasuke and I would just kill time together. One day he says he loves me and he wanted to take me back to Konoha with him. We hadn't even had sex and he wanted me to marry him. I told him that my home was here in Suna and I was a well respected Ninja and I wasn't about to throw all that away to go and be his house wife. Well, he couldn't understand why I said no, because I had been fine with his advances until then. I didn't know that he couldn't take no for an answer. We would get into scraps all the time, and I switched cabins so I could distance myself from him a little. It didn't work. He started hitting me so I asked the captain if I could change vessels. After that, things were fine, I got my mind off him and I thought I wouldn't see him again."

"That was a year ago. But the last week all of the trainees were on the same ocean liner and he found me. He proposed to me again and I said no...he got really angry at me..." Kita trailed off, unsure of how to recount what had happened.

"Are you okay, Kita?"

"Temari...Oh, Temari! He raped me," Temari's jaw dropped.

"What?"

"Yeah, but, Temari," Kita said in a low whisper. "I liked it."

"It's not rape if you liked it." Temari was very confused.

"I told him to stop, I begged him. It was like I was in hell. I was frozen, helpless, he pumped into me again and again and I never felt so gross, so violated and so used. I was crying and crying. But, almost as it was over," Kita stopped, remembering that grisly, heinous, exhilarating moment. "He looked me in the eyes. He kissed the cold tears off my cheeks and he said over and over, I love you, I love you, come back to me, I love you, I need you," Kita trailed off again.

"What the fuck, that is messed up, Kita."

"I know! I've never been so confused! A part of me sees that he has these horrors in his past and I see that he needs me to take care of him and make him happy."

"And the other part is your pride?" Kita nodded. "Kita, what he did is totally reprehensible. Do you know how many battered women haven't been able to get away from abusive relationships? How do you know he won't always be like that?"

"I don't know. But Temari, he really loves me, and I know I can love him back. We just need time and a little magic, but he's the one. I feel it." Temari took a gulp from her glass.

"Go for it." She said. Kita looked at her searching for more approval. "A man like that doesn't come along every day. And even if it turns out for the worst you'll have known a passion that others dream about, and you can still be proud."

"Really?"

"No! You're a crazy bitch for even dreaming that the two of you could be together! He is fucked, Kita. He hit you and he forced himself on you. That is psycho. I don't care how tight his ass is! You can't let any man treat you like that."

"You don't understand." Kita said softly.

"What is there to understand?" Temari deadpanned. "You are medically insane if you think that being with Sasuke is a good idea." Kita shook her head and set her wine glass down.

"I can see that our relationship could not withstand a three year stall. I have nothing more to discuss with you." Kita grabbed her rucksack and headed for the door.

"Wait, what the hell are you saying?" Temari grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving. Kita glared at her scathingly. "My god, you really are crazy. You can't leave." Temari glared right back at Kita.

"You have insulted me in the worst way anyone ever could. For your sake, I pray that we never meet again." Kita flicked the hair out of her face and left through the door, leaving an absolutely appalled Temari in the doorway.

Kita arrived at the gates of Kohona. After the guards had checked her passport, she asked them if they knew Sasuke and where she could find him. "Yeah," One of the guards said. "Everybody knows him. He lives on the Eastern side of town."

"Thanks," Kita said. By the time she had wandered into the heart of Eastern Konoha, the sun was setting. She asked a woman walking past her in the street if she knew where Sasuke lived and she replied that he lived in the middle of the abandoned part. Kita wandered in the direction the woman had pointed. She noticed the houses looked more unkept and there were no lights on in the windows. Suddenly Kita realized she was in the middle of nowhere and it was dark. She was afraid, until she noticed a small light on in a house that seemed noticeably better taken care of than the dark houses surrounding it. This was Sasuke's home. Kita knocked on the door and waited with bated breath. He answered the door, his dark eyes seemed indifferent to her sudden appearance but they widened slightly and his jaw clenched. "Hey," Kita breathed. "May I come in?"

"Kita?" Sasuke asked, incredulous. "Kita, you came."

"You knew I would." She said as she walked in and took off her shoes.

"I was almost certain I would never see you again." He said. "After what I did." He took her inside and the two of them sat together on his sofa.

"Why did you do that to me?" Kita asked.

"I don't know. I'm sorry. I wanted you so badly, I've never needed anything like I needed you that day. I'm just so angry...all of the time, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry, Kita." He reached for her and held her face in his hands. "Thank god you're here. My dreams are so dark without you." Sasuke's large eyes softened and he smiled.

"Can I stay with you?" He nodded. "Like, as long as I want?"

"Yes. I love you, Kita." Sasuke said. He kissed her softly and she leaned into his chest, letting him hold her against him possessively.

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Kita stayed with Sasuke and found life with him was more wonderful than she could have imagined. Sex was never convincing before, but it was with Sasuke. She could truly feel the two of them were making love. It was never like this when you were with Temari's brother. The two of them spent every day all day together. There was almost nothing to say since there was nothing to do but be together. Recently Kita started feeling nauseous after eating, and in the mornings, and whenever she got out of bed quickly. Her head hurt and she became hot all of a sudden, then cold, like she had the flu. "I think you're pregnant." Sasuke said to her one day as she held her head in her hands one morning, waiting for the pain to go away.

"I never thought about that."

"I bought you one of those at-home tests, why don't you try it out?" She walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Sasuke sat on the bed, waiting for her to come out. She was in there for ten minutes before she came out again. She sat next to him on the bed and he put his arm around her.

"You were right." She shook her head regretfully. "What does this mean for us?"

"It means that we're having a baby. I'll take care of you and I'll take care of our family. We were meant to be together. You have given me what I've been looking for all this time. Kita, you will have this baby, won't you? Do you want to get married first.?"

"No." Kita lied down and closed her eyes. "Do you love me, Sasuke?"

"You know I do. Don't worry, Kita, everything will be okay. I'll always be in love with you, I'll never stop. We can be together like this forever." Kita smiled. This was all so strange. Three years ago, she did not know this man, and now the rest of her life revolved around him. With no hesitation, she smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I love you." she said. "Can you get me something for my head ache?"

"Of course, darling. I'll be back soon." Sasuke kissed the top of her head as he left.


	4. Kiba and Sunny

**Kiba + Sunny**

Kiba was one of the last people that Sunny expected to like. But as she came to know him better, her fondness grew. Kiba was pathetic, although he tried to be cool. He would always bitch about not seeing her enough and he was always caught up in her mind games. But when she felt cold and alone in a dark, hostile world, Kiba was there to save her from her fears.

"Kiba?" She said to him. He turned lazily to look at her. He smiled and reflected on how beautiful she was. The two of them sat in the grass, while Akamaru chewed a stick, at their favourite little spot in Konoha.

"What is it, Sunny?"

"I know I'm really mean to you sometimes,"

"Most times."

"…and I don't always show it but I'm in love with you." Kiba's eyes widened. He grinned and seemed to savour the moment; the first time a girl had been in love with him. "I love you," She said, crawling into his lap. Her knees sank into the soft grass on either side of him. "I love you so much," She kissed him but he kept still, hardly believing what was happening. "Kiba? Will you hold me?" He slowly put his arms around her and tucked his head in the crook of her neck.

"Sunny, I'm so glad to hear that." Kiba told Sunny he loved her ages ago, but she had never said it back before.

"Can I come over tonight?" She asked. Kiba tensed up a little.

"Sure, whatever." he said.

"Whatever," She echoed. "Aren't you cool?"

Kiba brought her into his apartment. She hopped over to his bed and plopped down. Akamaru jumped up too. "Oh, Akamaru!" She whispered to the dog. "I wish you were a human, then I'd leave Kiba and we could live in unconditional love forever. You're the best dog in the world. I love you more than anything."

"What do you say to him?" Kiba asked.

"I told him to get off the bed so me and my boyfriend could have hot sex." Kiba laughed nervously.

"Man, you must be pro." She bit her lip.

"Uh, Kiba, how many girls have you been with?" She asked casually. Her heart beat furiously in her chest. _"Please don't break my heart, please don't break my heart, please don't…" _She thought to herself.

"I don't know, like, seven?" Her heart lay at the bottom of her stomach in a dozen pieces. The air around her felt close and it was hard to breathe because there was an empty feeling in her lungs. "How many guys have you fucked, 30?"

"What the hell, Kiba!" She shouted.

"I'm sorry!" He said quickly. "It's just that you're so smooth, and I," He sighed "I get so flustered when it comes to you! I've made girls dance in my lap just by looking at them, but I can't figure you out for shit. And it's just frustrating because I finally found the girl I really want to be with and she's been around and I probably won't excite her at all because of that."

"Fuck, Kiba!" She yelled. She got off the bed and grabbed her bag.

"No, don't leave. What is it?" Kiba barred her from the door.

"Let me go,"

"Tell me what your problem is, and then I'll let you go."

"Kiba, I love you, and you treat me like a slut that's fucked to hell and back. That hurts. It hurts a lot. You're just hurting me." Sunny's tears spilled over her eyes and she cried quietly while Kiba shook his head. "Kiba, I know you had sex with Ino last year while we were dating. That almost killed me. And now you are making jokes about how many guys I've had sex with? It's too much. "

"You knew,"

"Of course I knew!" She yelled. "Fuck! Kiba, I'm still a virgin. Fuck! I'm gorgeous, I'm 19 and I never kissed a boy before you. And what have I gotten? Shit. Just a broken heart and a bad feeling." Sunny pushed past him and walked out.

"What a mistake, what a fucking mistake," She muttered to herself as she fumbled with her house keys. She wasn't a very good ninja, she didn't have many friends since they deserted her when she didn't confront Kiba about Ino. All she had was Kiba and now she didn't even have him. She locked her door and sat at the kitchen table, crying while she opened her mail. She heard someone running on her porch really loud and fast. She quickly turned the lights off and covered her mouth to muffle the sobs.

"Sunny! Sunny, please!" She was shocked to hear Kiba's voice cracking, almost like he was crying too. She always cried, but she never heard Kiba like this. "Sunny, please! Please let me in." She quickly got up from the table and ran to the door. The instant after she opened it Kiba was on her, crying. "Sunny!" He was shaking as he stroked her hair. His voice was dry and his tears dripped down his face and off his cheeks. He was so vulnerable. He was like Sunny. "Sunny, please forgive me. Please, please, Sunny, Please." She held his face and looked him in the eyes. His big brown eyes were drowning in tears, tears she had caused.

"I will," She said. "Don't worry, I'll forgive you. Just do one thing," Kiba tried to stop crying and wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket. "Make love to me, Kiba, let's have sex and forget everything else." Kiba smiled and laughed. He closed the door and locked it, he was still smiling.

"Oh, I'm so relieved. So relieved. I love you."

"I love you, too." Kiba kissed her slowly, his hands rubbing up and down her sides and back. She held on to his hips as the kissed. He ran his fingers through her hair and held on, keeping her head still as he slid his tongue into her mouth. He pulled away just a little and bent down, slipping his one arm behind her knees and the other around her shoulders, picking her up and dumping her onto her bed.

"Kiba," She said. He smiled softly at her as she undid the buttons on his jacket. He pulled her up and lifted her dress over her head.

"Mmm, I love it when you wear those things," He said.

"It's just a thong, and it's not for you. It's so I don't get panty lines."

"Not for me? Well, can I have it now?" He asked, he slid his fingers around the band of her underwear and slid them slowly down her legs. She ripped his shirt off of him and clumsily tried to unbuckle his belt. He popped it open quickly and she undid his jeans as the two of them hastily pulled them down. She saw his erection through his boxers and suddenly became afraid. Kiba hadn't noticed and he slid his arms under her to unhook her bra. Her breasts fell from their perky position and sat naturally on her chest, nipples hard as Kiba starred wide-eyed at her body.

"Don't, don't look!" She said, pushing his face the other direction.

"Why not?" He laughed and slid down the bed a little. "Let me know if you like this," He said. He stuck his hands in between her knees and pushed them apart, his face in her crotch.

"Kiba!" She gasped. "That's not yours!" She closed her legs on his head and tried to push him out.

"It's mine now. Lean back, Sunny, lean back and enjoy." His head disappeared and she laid her head down on the pillow and sighed.

"Enjoy whaaaaa-!" She felt something enter her that wasn't supposed to be there, it was warm and wet. She shot up and looked at him. "Kiba are you-do you-did you just?" Kiba pushed her back down without saying a word and continued to lick and kiss inside of her. Slowly she opened her legs up more so he could go deeper. "Mmmm," She was moaning softly as he pleasured her with his mouth and his fingers, sliding them in and out slowly and then faster. "Oh, Kiba," She reached down and pulled his head closer to her body as his tongue moved faster and faster. It was so hot and she felt pressure building up inside of her. She never knew pleasure like this. "Kiba," She said. "Kiba!" She heard a gush and instantly the pressure was relieved. It was really wet now, either it was her or Kiba's saliva, but most likely both.

"Well, did you like that?" She nodded her head quickly as an answer. She felt the sweat cool on her body and she panted to catch her breath. She looked at Kiba again and saw that his erection stuck out even more than before.

"It will hurt," Kiba said, reading her thoughts. "But not too much and it will go away after a few minutes." He said. He rubbed her sides and tried to calm her down, but Sunny was kind of wriggling and her nerves were firing all over. Either in preparation, or excitement, but probably both.

"Alright, I'm ready," She said. She slid her hands into his boxers and Kiba pursed his lips. She saw it twitch under his boxers in anticipation. She felt for it and wrapped her hands around his penis, moving her hands slowly up and down.

"It's not going to be like that for long," He said and he pulled his boxers off. She averted her eyes; it was best not to look at it. "Lay down again," He said. She obeyed and took a peak. She immediately regretted looking.

"Will it even fit?" She asked.

"Yeah, don't worry Sunny, you'll like it." He said. He got on top of her and she felt the tip of it right at the lips of her vagina. It scared her and she tensed up a little. "Relax, it'll hurt less." She laughed nervously.

"Like the flu shot!"

"Sunny, if you don't-"

"No, I do. I love you Kiba. I'm scared, but I want this." He nodded.

"I love you," He said. She held on to him and cried out as he thrust inside of her.

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It had been two months since she last cried, the night Kiba broke her in. He proposed two weeks after that and they would be married in the autumn. "Sunny!" Kiba called to her from across the park. She was waiting for him to be done training and he was a little earlier than she expected. He probably left early, too, because she told him she would be waiting. "Hi Kiba, hi Akamaru." She said. Suddenly Akamaru eagerly sniffed your legs, your arms and your belly, wagging his tail. He started barking.

"What! Are you sure?" kiba said.

"Wait a second," She said. "Does Akamaru tell you what I whisper to him?"

"What? Oh, yeah. All the time, you're so cute. Listen, Akamaru says you're pregnant. He can smell it."

"What?"

"Yeah!"

"Really?"

"Yes! We're pregnant! Yahoo! We're having a kid!" Kiba's joy faded to fear when he saw Sunny crying again.

"Kiba," Sunny choked

"Oh no! What is it, Sunny?"

"Are you really happy?"

"Yes, I've almost never been happier!"

"Are you sure? Are you really sure? You really want to have a baby?"

"Yes, Sunny. I really really really want to have this baby and I'm really really sure. Are you okay with this, though?"

"I'm happy if you're happy."

"Good, because I'm happy when you're happy." He sat with her on the bench and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Oh, Sunny, I love you so much. Nothing could make me happier than if we had a baby" Akamaru barked again.

"What is it? What did he say?" Sunny asked.

"Oh," Kiba said. "Akamaru says they're two."

"Two? Two what?"

"Two pups!"


	5. Gaara and Mina

**Gaara + Mina**

"Hey, Mina!" Naruto called down the road to Mina.

"Hi!" Mina said. "How's my number one favourite ninja?" She asked.

"He's sad to see his best friend has her bags packed. Again. Where are you going now?" Naruto whined. Mina worked out of Konoha as a translator. Other villages would hire her to interpret for foreign guests of the state or just help out with a back log of documents.

"I'm going to Suna for a month or so." She said.

"Weren't you just there?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I guess the Kazekage needs a lot of help. Listen, I've got to go, I'll write to you when I get there." Naruto sighed.

"Fine." He said, pulling her in for a big hug. "Take care."

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After three days of travelling Mina came at last to Konoha. She went straight to the Kazekage's office, since she must be immediately needed for them to have called her in again so quickly. She told the guards at the Kazekage's office who she was and they let her in. She knocked on the door of his office and slowly opened the door, sticking her head inside. "Uh, hello? Kazekage-sama?" She walked inside and closed the door behind her. He looked up from his desk and motioned for her to sit down. "I got here as soon as I could. I figured it was important."

"No," He said. "Mina, would you please call me Gaara?"

"Oh," She nodded her head. "Yes, of course. Well, urgent or not, what is it you called me here for?" Gaara leaned back in his seat.

"I'd like to offer you a permanent position here as a translator." Mina was caught completely off her guard by this.

"Uh, my home is in Konoha and I prefer to stay there. If you need a full-time person I can recommend a couple of my colleagues who are in a much better position to work out of Suna." She explained.

"I would be happy to offer you an annual salary of 80,000 with six weeks paid vacation. You can have any office you'd like."

"Wait, that much for only a year? Are you crazy? That's insanely high." Mina was lucky if she could scrape together 20,000 a year. That was way too high for an ordinary translator.

"I'm willing to pay enough to make you stay here. I've contracted you out for a month here anyway. You can think about it all you like. Meanwhile, you may return to the office you used the last time you were here. There are some documents already on your desk." Mina shot up out of her chair to get to work. "None of them are urgent," He added quickly.

Mina giggled a little and Gaara cocked his head, not understanding what she thought was humorous. What on earth was Mina doing here, anyway? What could he possibly want from her for eighty grand a year?

"Thank you, Gaara, I'll get right to it." She smiled and left his office, heading down the hall towards her own office. It was wonderfully cool inside, a nice change from the heat of the sun. She sat down at her desk and started to read a transcript of an interview in Russian. The Cyrillic hand writing seemed really familiar. "That's weird," Mina remembered this conversation, had she been there? "No," She said. "No, I've already translated this document into English." She said. She turned around and opened her filling cabinet where she kept copies of documents. By six o'clock she had matched every document on her desk with a translated version from her filing cabinet. "That's strange, someone must have made a mistake." She looked at the clock, quarter after six. Gaara's office closed at six, maybe she could speak to him about it before he left. Mina packed up her things and turned off the lights, heading out of the door. "Uh, excuse me," She said to a guard who had been standing outside of her office. "I need to speak with the Kazekage, do you know where he might be?" The guard seemed startled that Mina had anything to say to him.

"Are you Mina?" He asked. She nodded her head. "Well, please follow me, Miss." She followed him right out of the building.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked him.

"To see the Kazekage. He left specific instructions to bring you to him if you asked."

"It's a small matter. It can wait until tomorrow. I don't want to bother him at home." Mina was almost running to keep up with the guard's long strides.

"We're here, please go ahead, Miss." He gestured with his arms for her to climb the stairs of a beautiful mansion, which she took to be Gaara's home. Mina knocked softly, almost hoping no one could hear so she could leave and check into her hotel to sleep. No such luck, a girl opened the door. She had blonde hair tied back and she looked to be about five years older than Mina. At first she looked at Mina sceptically, but then she smiled as she took in her appearance.

"You must be Mina. Gaara said you might drop by. Come in," She held the door open and Mina thanked her, walking inside. "I'm Temari, Gaara is my younger brother."

"Oh? It's nice to meet you." Mina said.

"Aw! You're so cute. It's nice to meet you, too, sweetheart. Gaara's just in the kitchen." She took Mina by the hand and led her out of the ridiculously luxurious foyer and into the kitchen. In the center was a large island at which Gaara was seated. He was wearing a black t-shirt, reading the paper and absently eating from a bowl of strawberries. "Gaara, your friend is here." Temari said to him as he looked up. He seemed relieved, as if he had been waiting for Mina to come. "I'll leave you to it," Temari said, and she disappeared. Gaara got up.

"Mina," he said. She put her bag on the counter and walked over to him. She sat on the stool next to his and he sat down again.

"Uh, hey Gaara. Sorry to bother you at home like this." Gaara shook his head.

"You're always welcome here." He said softly. He was acting kind of weird, he wasn't as guarded as she remembered him being. In fact, he seemed almost vulnerable and sweet.

"So I translated those documents on my desk." She said, waiting for him to make a comment.

"That was quick." He said. She sighed impatiently.

"Gaara, I translated them three months ago. Why did you ask me to come here if you were just going to pay me to waste time?" She asked. Gaara looked down and smiled to himself. Mina couldn't remember if she had ever seen him smile before, but it was cute and shy. Mina smiled too as Gaara looked up to speak.

"I really enjoyed having you around. You just made everything brighter. Work was easier, sleep was easier. I started to enjoy lunch hour because there was a hope you would come eat with me. I didn't know any way to get you back here except to lure you in through work." Mina laughed.

"You're so strange!" She laughed some more. Gaara waited uncomfortably for Mina to compose herself. "Oh," She said, wiping a tear of laughter away. "I think I might have done the same thing, though." Gaara smiled again.

"I thought I was being foolish."

"Yeah, you're a fool." Mina said, giggling some more. "But you're the best kind of fool."

"Does this mean that we can be friends now?" Gaara asked. Mina nodded.

"Absolutely."

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It had been three months since the two of them had become friends. Mina missed Naruto terribly, but she truly loved Suna. Her and Gaara were getting closer all of the time, and she couldn't help but think that she would rather be his girlfriend than just his friend. Now Mina was temporarily moved into Gaara's house since she spent all her time there anyways, and when Gaara was busy working, his sister would hang out with her. One night Mina started to explain her dilemma regarding how she felt about Gaara to his sister.

"I mean," She said to Temari. "he's not seeing anyone, is he?"

"What, Gaara? Hell no."

"Do you think it's such a stretch that we could be together?"

"Not at all," Temari reassured Mina. They heard someone come into the house and Temari grinned. "Now you can ask him yourself." She said, leaving. Just then Gaara came into the kitchen.

"Hey Gaara!" Mina said.

"Hi Mina." He said back. _"This is going to be tough,"_ Mina said to herself. She didn't want to lose Gaara as a friend. But it would be better this way because otherwise she would have always wondered what could have been. "What's wrong?" Gaara asked. He saw that Mina looked conflicted.

"Gaara, you like me, right?" She asked.

"Where is this going? You know how much I care about you. Of course I like you." He pulled out the stool next to her and sat down, staring at her while she nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Gaara sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

"I don't want be your friend anymore." Mina said. "I want to be, you know, _with you."_

"I don't understand," Gaara said, his quiet voice seemed full of sorrow and rejection. Mina came closer to him and slowly put her hands around his face, pulling him closer. When he was inches away from her face, she looked into his deep eyes and tried desperately to convey her feelings. Then she leaned in, lips slightly parted, and kissed him. His lips were smooth and cool and they moved in perfect synch with Mina. When she pulled away it felt like they had been kissing for hours, not moments.

"Gaara, don't you understand now?" She said, petting the side of his face. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Let's go talk upstairs," he said in a near whisper. He brought her to his bedroom and she was impressed at how cool his room was.

"It's so big," She marvelled. "You have a patio in your room? How cool is that!" She skipped over and went outside on the deck. The night was cold and quiet. She surveyed the town. "It's beautiful here," She said. Gaara surprised her when he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Aren't you cold? Come back inside." He gently pulled her back in and closed the patio door. She sat on his bed and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"I've never had a real boyfriend before," She said. "What do couples do?"

"I don't know," Gaara said. He sat down next to her and pulled her into his chest. "I've never been a boyfriend before. But I imagine that couples do things like this." He said, leaning for a kiss.

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"Temari!" Kankuro hissed at his sister. He was standing at the top of the stairs when Temari turned around from the book she was reading to look at Kankuro. "Get over here!" He hissed again. He sounded urgent and excited. Temari quickly and quietly ran up the stairs and curiously followed her brother down the hall when he stopped outside of a bedroom.

"This is Gaara's room." Temari said quietly. Kankuro shushed her and motioned for her to listen at the door.

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"Oh," Mina cried out, dragging her nails down Gaara's back. He sped up his thrusts and the pain that initially had been so much was gone and it faded into pleasure. Pressure was building up inside of her as Gaara moaned again an incoherent version of her name.

"Mi-Oh, Mina," He said. Suddenly there was a gush inside of her and Gaara's thin, sweaty body collapsed onto Mina. Her chest heaved with panting as she felt Gaara pull out, and the pain was slowly coming back. "Mina, did-uh," Gaara said, as he flipped onto his side and crept next to her under the covers. "Mina, did that hurt?" He asked softly.

"Tremendously." She replied. "But that was," She paused and sighed. "Extraordinary."

"Yeah? You liked it?"

"Of course, did you?"

"These past few hours have been the best of my life, Mina. I love you." Mina smirked, completely satisfied.

"Gaara, I love you, too."

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Kankuro and Temari quietly walked back downstairs to discuss what they had heard. "Did you-"

"No! I thought you might have told him about-"

"You're his older brother! The sex talk is your territory!"

"Well, regardless, he found out what it was." Temari frowned.

"Kuro, you need to talk to him."

"No. Never."

"What if she gets pregnant?"

"She won't get pregnant."

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A few months had passed since that night. Mina was sitting at the counter in the kitchen, eating breakfast with Gaara and his family. It was time to tell Kankuro and Temari. When she told Gaara she was pregnant he was so happy and excited, which relieved Mina immensely because she had been scarred shitless and contemplated running away to become a nun.

"So," Gaara said. Temari and Kankuro looked up. "Mina is pregnant." Temari looked at Kankuro and Kankuro looked at Temari.

"That's, uh-"

"That's great!" Temari said. "You two will be great parents." Kankuro winced and nodded in agreement as Temari kicked his shin under the table over and over again. Mina smiled, positively beaming. Naruto was coming over soon to stay with her during the pregnancy. When she told him in a letter that she was expecting and wanted him to come out he said he was really excited and he would be honoured to stay with Mina if she wanted him to. Gaara put his hand gently on her knee, and Mina realized in that instant as she looked in Gaara's eyes that this decision to be with Gaara was the best choice of her life.


	6. Shikamaru and Eden

**Shikamaru + Eden**

Eden and Shikamaru had been friends for ages. When Eden came back to Konoha after three years away, nothing had changed between them. Instead of lazing around his roof, watching the clouds, the two of them lazed around on the patio of her new apartment, chain smoking all night. On her first day back home, as the sun was setting, Shikamaru came over. The two of them sat on the patio and talked and smoked.

"Isn't it weird that we both picked up this habit?" Eden said.

"It's a little strange." He agreed.

"So how have you, like, been since I've been gone? I know you're not one for delving into memories, but you haven't told me about what went on while I was gone. How was life without me?"

"Okay, I guess."

"I heard about Asuma,"

"Yeah, that was tough for me. I'm fine now. How old are you now, anyway?"

"I'm seventeen. You're turning nineteen soon, right?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru was quite for a moment. "You look really good."

"Thanks," Eden was quite for a moment. "We're grown up now, we're not kids, but nothing has changed between us. I'm so glad for that. You got a girlfriend now?"

"Mmhmm. But she lives in Suna. I guess a nomad like you doesn't have a man holding her back." Eden laughed.

"You are correct," She said. There was more thoughtful silence as she put out her cigarette.

"So you're home for good now, right?"

"I don't plan on staying here."

"Why not? This is your hometown, aren't you tired of traveling..." Eden shook her head.

"It doesn't feel like home. I think home is whatever I make it."

"Promise you'll stay a few months at least."

"I will."

"Everyone was surprised to see you when you came back."

"Why?"

"You look different, like, really beautiful."

"So, I wasn't beautiful before?"

"No that's not it, you're making a lot of guys envious though, they're all like talking shit about you and I can't get them to shut up. Boys like new toys, you know how it is."

"As if...like who?"

"Uh, like Neji, and Kiba...and Naruto. They're others but they asked me if we were dating." Kita leaned back to rest on the wall.

"You said Neji, right?"

"He's too old for you."

"No he's not,"

"I shouldn't have said anything,"

"Oh, stop it. Do you still like to play shogi?"

* * *

She had been back in Konoha now for almost three weeks. Eden was seeing Neji and things were getting really heavy. She wanted to have sex with him really badly, but she didn't want to lose it to him. Eden felt conflicted and sulked around her apartment all day. Then, at dusk, Shikamaru came over. The two of them sat on the patio and talked. "Shika, I have a really big favour to ask."

"Ask away."

"But it's kind of weird and embarrassing."

"Okay, I'm biting, what is it?"

"I really like Neji and I want to be with him but he's a lot older than me."

"It seems he doesn't mind since you're already dating."

"Yeah, but he's older, and, uh, more _experienced_ than I am." Shikamaru stared at Eden until his cigarette went out in his hand. He cocked his head and looked at her quizzically.

"What are you getting at?"

"I don't want to lose it to Neji." Shikamaru laughed.

"What, so you want to lose it to me?"

"Yeah!" Shikamaru continued to giggle. "You've done it, haven't you?"

"Well, yes, but I don't think..." He stopped and struggled to find his words as she looked at him pleadingly. "I have a girlfriend, Eden." Shikamaru said darkly.

"But you don't love her. You don't even like her. And if you still want to be with her despite that then I promise I won't ever say anything else about this. Ever."

"Why is it so much better to have me pop your cherry than for Neji to do it? You two really like each other."

"You're my best friend. I trust you, and I care more about you than I will ever care about Neji. I want to be with him, I just don't want to lose it to him."

"I have a girlfriend." Shikamaru said again, slowly and quietly.

"And I have a boyfriend, but we're doing this anyway." Eden got up and brought Shikamaru inside by the collar of his shirt. She kissed him softly and held his face to her so he wouldn't leave. When she pulled away she started to unbutton his shirt, and her blood ran hot in her veins. Shikamaru giggled, completely amused by his situation.

"This is supposed to feel weird, but I like it." She slipped his shirt off his shoulders and made for his belt buckle, all the while he stood in a sort of daze. "How did you know?" She pushed his jeans down from around his hips.

"Know what? Sit on the bed."

"That I don't like Temari." She shrugged as she sat on the bed too.

"Can you unzip my dress? I know you too well. There's no passion or love in your voice when you talk about her. There's nothing. You don't care about her at all." Shikamaru undid her dress and pulled it up over her head. He smiled.

"Did you ever think we'd be sitting on a bed in our underwear?"

* * *

"Did you ever think we'd be next to each other like this?"

"Like this?" She asked.

"Naked, sweaty, sticky, tired."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it all day." She said. It was hard to pull herself away from him when he was holding you like that. If felt natural being there next to him with his arms around her waist. It felt like home. He made her feel incredible, but it was better not to sit there and cuddle, she might start to _like_ him like him. "Did it stay on?"

"Huh?"

"The condom, it didn't come off or break or anything?"

"Uh, no."

"Didn't feel like it was there."

"They have to feel like that, don't they?"

"I guess. It's almost morning, I'm going to go get coffee." She was about to get up when Shikamaru's arms came from behind and pulled her towards him. It was a bit creepy.

"Eden, didn't you like it?"

"Kind of. No. It hurt, and you didn't stop when I told you to."

"That's just how it works, you have to keep going."

"Says you." She quiet for a moment, savouring the feel of his smooth chest against her back. "I guess it was okay." She whispered. What she meant was, 'I want to do it again.' She got up and Shikamaru's arms dropped, no longer holding her back. She pulled on last night's clothes. "So, I'll see you later." She said, standing by the door. Shikamaru nodded and walked up straight towards her. he thought he was going to hit her or something, but he came and gave her a perfect kiss. He kissed Eden like her father had always kissed her mom. She started to tear up, but instead laughed nervously to cover it up. She walked out of the door. Shikamaru watched Eden from the window, as she walked right past the coffee shop, towards Neji's house.

000000000

It had been almost two months since she came back to Konoha. Her relationship with Neji met a bitter end two days ago. He gave mind blowing, sublime sex that Eden craved day and night. But he wasn't right for her. Something didn't fit, and it hurt a lot to tell him. She had been waiting a long time for her period to come and the PMS was overwhelming. She was moping on her couch, trying to ease the strange nausea she felt. She asked Shikamaru to go buy you a pregnancy test. She was afraid because she knew Neji was sterile, but Shikamaru didn't. When he came home with the groceries she grabbed the test from the bag. Shikamaru came into the bathroom about ten minutes later when he heard her crying in there. "Eden," He said, crouching on the floor next to her. "Eden, please don't cry." He sat next to her on the bathroom floor and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'll be here for you, Eden, for you and our baby, you don't have to cry, I'll be here for you, I won't leave you alone." Slowly she stopped crying and shook your head.

"It's not yours, we were wearing a condom. It's Neji's."

"That's weird. I remember taking off the condom before we started, and Neji can't have kids." She shot up off the floor like a bullet.

"What the fuck are you saying? You took it OFF? What the fuck is wrong with you! Why did you do such a fucking idiotic thing? So it would be one iota better for you? You're a fucking douchebag, Shikamaru, you're such a fucking cunt I can't even look at you without wanting to bash your fucking douchebag face in!"

"Eden I love you. And not as a friend. I want so badly to be with you, to keep you here with me. I want us to be together."

"That makes no fucking sense."

"You would have left! I thought if I gave you myself, and if we had a baby you wouldn't go away anymore and you'd stay here and we'd all have a home together." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her shoulders shook from sobbing, she'd never felt this many emotions in quick succession and her heart was beating horrendously fast.

"You always wanted a plain wife. One that's not too pretty, or ugly. Is that who you've made me? Am I going to have a girl and a boy, just like you always wanted? You think you can make me into whatever you want me to be?"

"I was wrong. I don't want a wife like that, I want a wife like you. Someone who's gorgeous, who makes everyone envious but doesn't know it, who makes me feel grateful to be in her presence alone. You're everything I want and you're all I need." Eden started getting itchy and he panicked a little, but Shikamaru stood up and held her right up against him and she didn't flinch a muscle.

"You love me," Eden said.

"I've always loved you. Life was shit without you here, I can't live without you."

"You've always loved me?"

"Yes always. I've always loved you. I'll never stop loving you. Those years without you were so dark. Eden, stop crying. We were supposed to be together, we're soul mates. I would never have touched you if you didn't invite me to, you know that."

"I know,"

"Then what's wrong?"

"I just feel sick."

"That's not me, right?"

"No, but it's you're fucking fault." Eden pushed Shikamaru away from her and tried to wipe her face dry with her sleeve. "So you're really going to help me?"

"Of course I am, you're my woman, I have to take care of you."

"Ew, don't call me that."

"Sorry,"

"Can you go back to the store for me?"

"Yeah, what do you need?"

"Decaf coffee and that gum with the nicotine." She eyes met Shikamaru's and he started to cry.

"Are we going to be together?" He asked, tearfully.

"Yeah. I think I have to be with you now, after all that stuff you said." She kissed him, and he kissed her back hungrily. Eden laughed. "You're a dirty old man."

"Eden I'm sorry I'm such a loser. I really didn't mean to hurt you, it kills me to have you staring at me like that."

"Well, you're an idiot."

"Yeah, I am. Can you forgive me?"

"I trusted you, Shikamaru. How am I supposed to do that again?"

"I'll make it up to you, I'll earn it back, I promise you."

"Okay. If you're gonna try then I'm gonna try."

"I love you."

"I love you too, darling, but I'm going to need that gum."


	7. Suigetsu and Lilly

**Suigetsu + Lilly**

"Lilly!" Ino called from the other room. "Lilly, please don't wear the red dress."

"Why not?" Lilly asked.

"Because it's ugly. Why won't you wear my silver one?"

"I can't wear that. It's completely backless, you can see my tattoo."

"What's the point of having that thing if you never show it off..." Ino grumbled. She walked in, putting on her earrings. She looked gorgeous in a sequinned mini dress and death-defying heels. She's always been pretty but when she cleaned up she looked damn good. "Come on, Lillly. You need to look good, we're gonna be the hottest group in the club."

"You know I hate the club scene. Why are you dragging me in to this stupid party. I don't even know the guy whose birthday it's supposed to be, I think it's just a lame excuse you made up."

"Yeah it's a lame excuse..." Lilly rolled her eyes at Ino.

"Do you think Sasuke is going to be at this club?"

"...that's what I heard."

"I know for a fact that he won't be there. He invited me out to Barney's tonight to watch his friend play a show. I want to go but I told him that I had to go along with you to your lame ass club."

"Ew, Barney's? Really? That place is so gross."

"It's not gross, it's just not what you're used to. Barney's is the bomb. Do you want to see Sasuke or not?" Ino put on a pair of tights under her too short dress and Lilly put on a leather jacket and sneakers. The two of them headed to the dingy rock joint on the edge of town.

0000000000000000

"Hey let's go get tetanus shots afterwards!"

"Dear God, shut up." Lilly dragged Ino inside the smoky bar and looked around for Sasuke. "Hey Damien," Lilly called to the bar tender. "When does _Dying to Bleed _play their set?"

"'Bout ten minutes." he replied. "Sasuke is looking for you."

"I said I wasn't coming,"

"He knew you'd come."

"Weird. This is my friend Ino," Ino gave a small sardonic smile. "She _loves _this place." Lilly and Damien both laughed as Ino whipped her head around looking for Sasuke.

"Come on Lil, he's over there." Ino pulled you through the lazy crowd of people gathered around the stage and over to the small booths around the edge of the club. "Hey Sasuke!" Ino smilled. She was completely out of place here. Sasuke looked mortified but then his expression softened when he saw that you were accompanying Ino so her chances of getting beat up were lessened. "How's it going?"

"Fine." He replied. There was a lull of uncomfortable silence for a moment or so. It was always so awkward when two worlds of Lilly's friends met like this. She loved Ino and Sasuke, but they were so different from each other it was a wonder that Sasuke didn't bite off Ino's head.

"So, who's this friend of yours? I don't know him, do I?" Lilly said.

"No, he's from way back, his name is Suigetsu."

"Oh, that watery guy with the big sword, right?" Ino interjected.

"What the hell? Watery? Do you mean like, sword or do you mean, like, dick?"

"I mean _sword_ gutter brain. He's a shinobi from the water country. He's kinda freaky." The curtain went up and the surprisingly mellow crowd suddenly started lowly roaring to life.

"Which one is he?" Lilly asked as some guys took to the stage.

"The one in the middle." Sasuke said. Lilly squinted for a better look. He was tall and skinny, with white hair and purple eyes. He flashed a smile to the now-deafening crowd, and his teeth were sharp as knives.

"Yeah, kinda freaky..." She whispered in Ino's ear. The band started and played some high-energy songs sung with lyrics like poetry. Sasuke's friend was lead guitar, and his fingers were super quick. The concert wrapped up and the crowd got restless as they knew they were in for the last song. In Lilly's left hand she held Sasuke's right, and in her right she held Ino's left. She could feel her two worlds gently pulling her apart. She had lived too long in this twilight, and now Lilly had to make the choice to stay with Ino and her world of fun, energy, excitement, and simplicity, or to live in Sasuke's world, which was dark, intense, mysterious and demented.

"Do you want to meet him?" Sasuke said to Lilly. She hadn't even heard the last song, she was thinking in her own world.

"Bye Ino." Lilly said.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ino hissed, but Lilly quickly slipped out of the booth with Sasuke, hand in hand, headed back stage.

"Suigetsu," Sasuke's voice cut through the hubble bubble of the women trying desperately to get some attention from the boys in the band. Suigetsu smiled and waved at Sasuke to come over.

"Hey," Suigetsu said. "Thanks for coming." Suigetsu saw now that the girl walking close behind Sasuke was actually a friend not a fan girl. He stared at her for a short while. "Who's this?"

"This is Lilly, Lilly, Suigetsu."

"Hey," Suigetsu smiled toothily.

"Hey yourself." Lilly replied. "Great show."

"Thanks. Your girlfriend's kinda cute Sasuke. You guys want a drink? What'll you have, Lilly?"

"We're not, uh, together." Lilly said curtly. "I gotta head home," She whispered to Sasuke.

"She wants to leave." He told Suigetsu.

"Come on, I promise you'll have fun." Lilly had a bad feeling about this 'after party', but she trusted Sasuke, so she followed the two guys over to the bar where Damien poured her a double shot of her absinthe and one of Sasuke's whisky shooter. "Woah, okay, I was thinking like a beer or something. I guess it's a party, right?" This guy was so weird, he looked like he belonged with Sasuke, but he acted kinda like Ino's cousin or something. 'This guy must be nutters,' Lilly thought. 'You have to be to hang out with Sasuke.'

"Yeah, party hardy." Lilly droned. Suigetsu chinked his vodka against her shot glass and gave Lilly a wink as she drank quick.

0000000000000000

An hour or so later, she was slurring her words too much to have a coherent conversation with Suigetsu. Sasuke had left a while ago, left her here slightly-but-not-too drunk with this freaky guy she barely knew. "Hmm, it's hard to talk." Lilly said slowly. "I think that's enough for me..." She said dreamily. Her gaze shifted from far off to Suigetsu's face where the two of them locked eyes. "You're weird looking," She said. "But you're so sweet." Lilly leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Nice to meet you." She said weakly as she walked out of the club, leaving Suigetsu a little dazed.

Her bare legs froze up when she got outside but her belly was warm from mixing whisky, vodka, and absinthe. She heard someone run out after her and she knew it could only be him. She checked her pockets, had she forgotten something?

"Yo, Lilly, you're really drunk." Suigetsu called after her. She shook her head slowly.

"I so am not." She stared at Suigetsu. "Seriously, I'm okay." He just stared at her some more, as if on the brink of making some unknown decision. "Uh, do you, like..." Lilly ran her hands through her hair. "Wanna come over, or something?"

"You're drunk."

"I am not, but whatever." The two of them walked along quietly for a while. Lilly stumbled over a pot hole in the road but recovered quickly to not reveal that yes she actually was intoxicated. Suigetsu watched her with a worried expression. "I need some coffee and a shower and I'll be good." Lilly explained. They got to her place and she threw her coat over a chair. "Can I get you anything?" Lilly asked. She walked over to a cupboard and started scooping out coffee grinds when she felt Suigetsu's hands on her shoulders. She stood still while he rubbed them and she felt him run his lips along her left shoulder diagonally down to the middle of her back.

"I like your tattoo." He mumbled against her skin. His hands slid down her sides and rested on her hips as he kissed her neck. Suddenly she was dead sober and became aware of every noise and touch and sound. Suigetsu was so odd but he was so enticing. He was drawn into her and she was drawn into him. She turned around and raised her lowered eyes to look at him. He looked thirsty as he leaned in to kiss her. She kissed him back roughly, much to his excitement. His hands reached down behind her knees and he lifted her onto the counter. She pulled him close to her between her legs and made out with him until she felt a bulge in his pants against her thigh. She slid off the counter and started taking his clothes off as he fumbled to find the zipper on her silver dress. "Why do you have a tattoo of a blue dragon?"

"It pulls off, off," He reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head as she kicked off her sneakers. "I like dragons. Water dragons can do, like, water stuff and fire stuff" Suddenly the drunkenness was back. Suigetsu giggled and followed Lilly to her bedroom. She pushed him gently on her bed and told him to lie down as she slid his boxers off his narrow hips. He pushed her down and pulled down her panties with his teeth. He came back up to her and she wrapped her arms around him as he spread her legs with his and tried to fit it in. Her arms could wrap around him entirely, he was so thin. "You're so skinny," She said softly. She felt it go in and she winced. She hadn't had a good look at it but his cock must've been pretty big. "How does someone has thin as you have such a big—ahh!" Suigetsu pumped inside of her hard and fast and covered her mouth with his, his tongue moving inside her at the same pace as his dick. Lilly moaned again and again, and tilted her pelvis up more and Suigetsu let out a grunt and his dick got harder as he started rhythmically squeezing her breast. Lilly squeezed him tighter with her arms and legs and he moved faster and faster until his body shuddered hard as if cold and she felt the wetness between her legs. "Hey," Lilly croaked.

"Hey yourself."

"Wanna clean up down there?" Suigetsu smiled his toothy grin as his head disappeared between her legs.

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"I think I'm sick." Lilly said to Sasuke.

"Mmmhmm." He replied. "What's wrong."

"I just feel funny."

"What do you want me to do about it..."

"I'm just letting you know so if I die then you know I didn't feel well." Lilly looked out of her window. "Have you heard from Suigetsu?"

"No." Lilly laid down on her couch and put her head in Sasuke's lap. He awkwardly patted her hair when the door rang. Eager to escape her feminine touches, Sasuke leapt up to the door. "Speak of the devil." He said to whoever was there.

"Yo!" a freaky and cheerful voice said. Lilly sat up quick on the couch. So quick that her head spun and she walked quickly to the toilet to puke up frosted flakes. Once she was done she politely wiped her mouth and brushed her teeth. She came out of the bathroom sheepishly. "Hey Suigetsu." She said glumly.

"Hey Lilly. I got your mail." He put some envelopes on the table and walked over to give her a hug. "Sick?"

"Ya. Where'd Sasuke go?"

"I think he gave us some...alone time."

"I never get mail." She flicked through her mail and her breath hitched in her throat as she saw a letter from her clinic. She ripped it open, shreds of paper flew in half a dozen different directions as her eyes greedily scanned the pages to see what was wrong with her. Under Urinalyses the pregnancy hormone was detected. Pregnancy hormone. Pregnancy hormone. Pregnancy hormone. Pregnancy hormone? " This does not compute," She muttered. Pregnancy hormone?

"What's up?" Suigetsu asked, looking over her shoulder. She clutched the papers to her chest quick as lightning. "P-P-Pregnancy hormone?"

"It's, uh, it's my room mates' mail. Whoops. She's in for a nasty surprise."

"Cut the crap, Lilly. How far along are you?"

"How far along do you fucking think I am?"

"A month?"

"Yeah, one fucking month." Lilly started crying. "How did this happen? I was _drunk_ you asshole. You didn't stop to think about something like this happening?"

"I wasn't exactly sober either. This is neither of our faults, Lil."

"You're right. It's Sasuke's fault. He shouldn't have left me alone with a creeper like you."

"Lilly, please, stop. You don't mean that."

"Yeah I do. I want you gone. Like, now."

"What are you saying? I came here for you, Lilly. A month ago, it took one night for me to know I loved you. I spent that month trying to get here so I could live with you and now you tell me to leave? After I find out that there is something that can keep us together after all, you want me gone?"

"Shut up! Just shut up, Suigetsu. Your words are like poison. You're just not good for me. I don't want you anymore."

"You don't mean that," Sasuke said from the doorway.

"Stay the fuck out of this." Lilly growled. Suigetsu could do nothing but stare lovingly at her. That's when she realized she was holding one hand over her belly protectively. She dropped her hand instantly. "You know what, fuck this. You wanna stay here so bad? I'll leave."

"Lilly, cool down," Sasuke breathed. "You're doing no good for anyone if you leave."

"Can you please just go." Lilly implored. "Just leave, please, I'm begging you." Sasuke shut the door behind him.

"I meant what I said, Lilly, I love you."

"You too. I need you to leave."

"I'm not going." Lilly sobbed so hard she could barely breathe. Suigetsu tried to pull her close but she wriggled away and screamed at him to leave. He slammed the door behind him and sat next to Sasuke outside of her house listening to Lilly cry.

"Do you think..." Suigetsu started,

"Yes, it's yours." Suigetsu leaned his head back and looked up at the sky.

"I love her. I knew it right when I looked at her."

"Mmhmm. She'll come out in a moment once she realizes that she loves you too."

"She doesn't"

"She does. I know everything about her, even before she knows it herself." Sasuke sighed and lit a cigarette when Suigetsu hit him in the back of the head. "Right, pregnant, second hand, got it." Sasuke mumbled. y heard the door open and close quietly and Lilly came and sat between them. An hour passed, the three of them out on her uncovered porch. Suigetsu was so bold as to put his arm around her. She leaned into him as Sasuke stole away.

"I'm-"

"I'm sorry." Suigetsu said first. "I love you Lilly. I'm sorry that this happened. I will do whatever you want me to do, if you want me gone I'll die, if you want me to stay, I'll never leave."

"I love you, Suigetsu. But I don't think we can do this."

"Of course we can. I know we can."

"I hate optimists."

"I'm not an optimist, I'm a realist."

"No, I'm a realist."

"No, you're a pessimist. But I love you anyway. We can do this. I'm going to be here with you until you send me away." Lilly snuck her hand under his shirt and rubbed his lower abdomen. She noticed a part of his skin that was kind of hotter than the others. She lifted his shirt up to look.

"I like your tattoo." She said, running her fingers over his irritated skin, fresh from the shop. "Why do you have a tattoo of a Lilly?"

"Because I'm in love with this girl who's as pretty as a flower."


	8. Sai and Robin

**Sai + Robin**

Of all the social retards in the world, Robin was one of the worst. She grew up on a small farm with her mother, father, and two older brothers. Her main source of happiness was her horse Pearl, who her father bought from a breeder when she was ten years old. Two years later, Robin's oldest brother told her that it was the 'angry people' who burned their home, stole their horse, and murdered the rest of their family. When she was fifteen, Robin left the care of her brother, who was not yet twenty. For three years she had lived in fear of him. Every day he would hit her, yell at her, and sometimes worse. After her escape she sought solace in solitude traveling to different places and working odd jobs as a seamstress. She caught wind that Konoha was a peaceful, beautiful, and safe place to live, and she decided to set up a more permanent residence inside its walls. She knew no one in this town, and no one knew anything of her. Because she grew up so secluded and shunned human relationships as a teenager, Robin was a bit of a freak. She got a job working for a tailor and soon was making good money enough to rent a small apartment on her own while saving a little on the side. She met wonderful people who needed mended clothing, mostly shinobi with terrible tears in their favourite uniforms. While Robin immensely enjoyed small talk, she couldn't recall ever having a deep conversation. The thought of one was quite terrifying. What else was there to talk about besides the weather, anyway? Her absolute favourite customer to talk to was a boy around her age called Sai. She liked his name, it meant "paint". He was so good at small talk, it was as if he had rehearsed for hours and hours before actually talking. On a day much like any other, Robin looked up from her stitching to see who had come into the shop.

"Hello Sai." Robin greeted.

"Good morning, Robin!" Sai smiled very easily, but his smile was also very strange, as if it belonged to someone else's face.

"What do you have for me today?"

"Oh, nothing. I don't need an excuse to come and see you, do I?" Robin's face fell. This was not typical small talk. This was going into personal territory. She didn't reply, instead she stared stonily into his face. He was not uncomfortable under her gaze. Rather, he seemed disappointed at her reaction to his attempts at socialization. "I would like to spend some time with you."

"That would be fine with me..." Robin said quietly, instantly regretting her words. The correct response to these sorts of situations was NO NO NO NONO NON NO.

"I shall pick you up at three, when you're done work?"

"Yes."

At quarter to three, Robin was shitting her pants she was so scared. She decided to think up some topics of conversation in advance, so when there was silence, she would have something to say.

"I'm leaving for the day," She told the tailor.

"Okay. Have fun with that boy, Robin. He seems very nice. You have to give people a chance now and then."

"Mmmhmm." Sai came in and greeted the two of them.

"Are you ready to leave, Robin?" She nodded her head and she left the shop with Sai. Her stomach was knotted as she walked down the street next to him. He grabbed her hand as they walked and Robin pretended not to notice that they were hand in hand. "I thought, if you'd like, we might go for a walk, and then I would buy you dinner." Robin didn't say anything. Instead she pulled her hand away to tuck it under Sai's arm and she walked a bit closer to him. She preferred non-verbal communication.

"Oh, hello Sai! Who's that pretty girl on your arm?" A man called to them from a Ramen shop. He ran out eagerly to greet the couple. "Oh it's you, Robin." Naruto was a regular, because he was kind of careless. Robin had fixed his ugly orange jumpsuit too many times to count. "Are-are the two of you on a date."

"Yes." Sai replied, smiling.

"Wow. Well, good luck, buddy. I want a low down on what goes down! You better tell me tomorrow! Bye, lovers!" Naruto ran back into his favourite ramen hut.

"I rather not expain how I know him." Sai said solemnly. They walked down the road until it became a path in the forest, and then followed it more until it became little more than a deer trail.

"Let's sit down," Robin offered. She was having so much fun, just walking next to Sai. Just being with him made her feel better, and the knot in her stomach was replaced with butterflies. They sat down on a patch of moss and Sai whipped out a sketch book from his bag.

"Can I show you some of my drawings?" Robin eagerly nodded. She had always been curious about what sorts of art he did. He flicked open through a few pages of mostly small doodles until he came to a sketch of an old sewing machine. It was the one that the tailor used. Robin watched Sai as he flicked through more pages with drawings of hands on them, hands holding sheets or fabric. Then one of the hands was holding a needle and thread and Robin realized these were her hands. The entire book was full of her hands doing things, hemming, knitting, stitching, threading, and there were pictures of just her hands doing nothing. The last page of the book was a little bird on a small branch. It looked sad and it had a red chest. "It's a robin." Sai said flatly. "I really like you." He added.

"I can tell. You like my hands, right?"

"Yes. I have other sketch books, but this one is the best."

"Others?"

"Yeah." He titled his head back to look at the sky. "It's getting dark, would you like to head back to town?" Robin was really flattered and a little creeped out at Sai's sketchbook. She was glad that she had someone who kind of cared about her.

It had been a few months since their first date. Sai insisted that they were now 'boyfriend and girlfriend', as he called it. Whatever it was, Robin was enjoying it. She loved having him around. One night, after a casual meal at Robin's place, her and Sai sat on the couch. His arm was around her and she had her head tucked into his neck. In a low voice, she whispered to Sai about how he was her favourite customer and the only person in town she had ever talked to outside of work. He told her about his recent difficulty interacting socially with other people, especially his team mates, who seemed to point him in a thousand different directions when he asked for their help deciphering social etiquette.

"So I just decided to follow my feelings instead. When I get stuck, sometimes I like to smile, but I always try to do what every my instincts tell me."

"That's good. You can only really trust yourself, you know."

"I trust you, Robin."

"You trust me with your trousers,"

"Yeah, but I mean in general. I want you to trust me, too." Robin squirmed uncomfortably. She knew where this was heading. Last week, Sai had tried to have sex with her, and they almost did, then Robin got really scared and asked him to leave. She cried all night and didn't show up to work the next day. "Please, Robin. You have to let me know what's going on in your head. What happened last week?"

"Sai, you're the only person in this whole world who gives a damn about me. I don't want you to know what happened to me before I came to Konoha."

"How come?"

"You would think badly of me."

"I could never do that." Robin sat up a bit straighter and started panicking. This was too much for her to handle.

"I want you to leave," She softly plead. Sai closed his eyes and she watched as small tears rolled down his cheeks. Robin was horrified that she made this gentle, wonderful person cry. "No, no please, don't do that," She wrapped her arms around him and started to cry too. After a while he hugged her back gently until their eyes became dry. "What you tried to do," Robin said slowly. The words were hard to say. "My brother used to do to me when I was younger. It started when I was twelve, it scared me and it hurt me. When I was fifteen I got as far away as I could, and then I came here five years later." Sai pushed her away to look at her. He held her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes, as her gaze was somewhere on the wall behind his shoulder.

"Robin," He said. "I'm so sorry. If I had known earlier, I would never have...Robin," He kissed her and she softly kissed back. She liked to think about those horrible parts of her past while he was holding her, his body was comforting her, while her brother's body used to hurt her. All of a sudden Robin felt powerful, like she could control how her memories affected her.

"I love you." She told Sai.

"I love you more." Sai replied. He kissed her again and she watched his dark eyes thinking of so many things at once. Even a normal person would have difficulty assessing what to do given Robin's situation. "I love you." He repeated. "I know now that I always will. I want to be with you forever, I want to take care of you."

"I don't—" Robin started

"—you don't need someone to take care of you? Maybe not. But I will be here. I will never change how I feel about you. You take care of me, Robin. Already I see that you're just a caring person. You like to cook for me, you like to be sad when I'm sad and happy when I'm happy. I love you Robin. And I don't expect anything in return."

"Sai, I am just a mirror of you. I'm the darker reflection, but identical none the less. I want to be with you, too." She ran her fingers through his soft black hair and petted his face, gazing into his eyes. "Now that you know, I want to try again."

"No."

"I at least want to try. Please, it'll be good for me. It'll be like that chapter of my life is over. My brother is hurting me still. I think this is the only thing that can keep me from that pain."

"No, it won't be good for you. The same thing is going to happen."

"How long did you spend reading up about how to engage in sexual activities?" Sai blushed. Robin knew that he didn't figure out what sex was based in his 'instincts'.

"A few hours I guess." He said sheepishly.

"More like a few weeks, right?"

"...Right."

"Please, I trust you, Sai, I know you won't hurt me. You can't. Not even if you tried because I love you too much." She smiled and Sai grinned crookedly; the first time his true smile emerged.

Although the first time wasn't perfect, it was pretty good. Robin was on cloud nine. Her daily routine became less like grudge work and more like a blessing. Every day she had with Sai was a literal gift. They were both so nervous, but after a few weeks of trying they were getting really good and experimenting with different things. The only thing that kept her down was a weak sort of nausea all day long for the past few days. When she went to sleep, she prayed it would leave her, but when she woke up it was always worse. She told Sai about it when he came to pick her up after work and he suggested they ask his teammate who was a medical ninja. Robin hesitantly agreed.

"I know she'll be at the library right now, let's go find her." Sai said. They walked arm in arm to the library as Sai asked her more and more about how he felt. Her answers seemed to worry him, but Robin knew it was probably just something she ate recently, or maybe worse. Maybe she was getting the flu. "I see her over there." Sai said, leading Robin past a few tables over to a pink haired girl with her nose in a book. "Hello Sakura. May I introduce you to Robin? Robin, this is Sakura my team mate." Sakura looked up at Robin and looked very surprised.

"This is Robin?" She asked.

"Hello." Robin said.

"Hello, it's nice to finally meet Sai's new reason for living. This guy does not shut up about you. Ever." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Sakura," Sai said. "Robin says she doesn't feel well, and I'm worried. Do you think you could—"

"Oh yes, of course, I'll have you feeling right as rain before you can say hopscotch." Sakura said. She invited Robin over and told Sai that he could come in half an hour later once they were done.

Half an hour later the girls were crying. One from happiness, one from fear.

"Robin, this is so exciting! I'm so happy for the two of you! I wish I could have a baby with someone like Sai!"

"You don't understand, Sakura. This is horrible." Robin sobbed.

"Sai is going to be so glad. You have no idea how much he's going to like this. Robin cried some more. "What are you so scared of?" There was a knock on the door, and Sakura went to get it as Robin quickly tried to dry off her face. She started thinking of another town to move to, maybe she would go back to that little place by that river. Where was that again?

"Robin, how do you feel? Did you figure anything out, Sakura?"

"Yes. Robin is just fine, she has something important to tell you, but she's going to be fine. Take her to the hospital in the morning and we'll go over it some more."

"Hospital?" Sai asked.

"It's nothing, Sai. Nothing bad. You two go home." Sai thanked Sakura and asked Robin what was wrong. She said she would rather wait until they got home.

They had been home for two hours when Robin stopped crying. She had no tears left, no energy to cry them. Yesterday she was blissful and happy. Now she was nauseous, sad, and afraid.

"Okay," She said finally.

"Are you pregnant?" Sai asked quietly. Robin stared wide eyed at him and slowly nodded. "I read that that happens. Why are you crying so much, what are you afraid of?"

"It's scary. I don't know what to do or what to expect from myself, from you, or from..." She could barely make herself say the word. "or from the baby."

"Robin, you are my family. And now we're having a baby together. We're just a family now. There are lots of families that get by fine without being sad or afraid. We're going to be happy together. I'm sorry that we didn't plan for this to happen, but this whole pregnancy thing—" He made a brushing gesture with his hands. "It's so small compared to everything else. It's just the sum of all of our immense happiness. "

"I lost you at 'family'."

"I love you." Sai said, grinning crookedly. He kissed Robin. "Don't you want to be happy with me?"

"Yes," Robin said, breathless and quick. "I love you, Sai. I'm sorry that I cry all the time."

"It's no worry."

"You're the only one who cares about me, Sai. I won't have anything if I don't have you."

"Without you _I'm_ nothing, my peach."

"So that's it?"

"That's it." He put his hands on her stomach. "We put the bun in three weeks ago, so in a little less than nine months it will be ready to come out of the oven."


	9. Kakashi and Rhyllo

Kakashi's mission had been a dud. He decided to take it slow on the way home and enjoy himself, since he wasn't expected for another week. Although the Hokage may see this as laziness, Kakashi saw it as a much needed reading break. He sat down in a small coffee shop, in a small town, in a small nation far away from Konoha. He thought here he would get some peace and quiet, with no distractions. He read through a couple of chapters of a certain dirty novel and reclined in his seat as he savoured his alone time. He saw across the shop a lady who was also reading. Kakashi stared at her for a long time. She was tall, for a woman at least, and had long dark hair. She was drinking black coffee. Kakashi couldn't stop looking at her. Well, who was to say he couldn't make new acquaintances in this place? While Kakashi was busy planning his move, the woman looked up and caught him gazing dreamily at her.

"Hello," She said, catching him off guard.

"Oh, Hello!" Kakashi smiled at her through his mask. She watched him, her big eyes wide with patience as Kakashi struggled to find his cool. "I couldn't help but notice that you're reading also,"

"Yes, it's the head guide." She said.

"You're a bounty hunter?" Kakashi asked. This woman looked simply not buff enough to take on dangerous shinobi.

"Mmmhmm." She said. "You seem surprised."

"I am. That's quite a dangerous profession you find yourself in."

"It can be, but I've been doing it for quite some time. I know how to take care of myself." She took a sip of coffee. "You must also be in a dangerous profession if you feel the need to hide your face like that."

"I suppose I am in a dangerous profession." Kakashi said.

"Is that why you're wearing a mask?" She asked

"No, wear it because it's terribly comfortable. What's wrong with wearing a mask, anyway?"

"A man cannot show what is in his heart if he hides his face." She replied earnestly.

"You want to see what's in my heart?" She laughed.

"My name is Rhyllo, I'm from the water country."

"My name is Kakashi, I'm from the fire country." He smiled at her again. She grabbed her book off the table and left the coffee shop, while Kakashi watched her leave. He ran out after her. "Dost I offend?" he called. She was walking away quickly and ignoring whatever it was he was calling to her. "Hey, Rhyllo!" He easily caught up with her since he was so long his strides were three to her one.

"Leave me alone." She said. She stopped walking and looked up at his face. "It's not you, it's just that I don't like to deal with Konoha."

"You don't even know who I am." Kakashi said.

"I know exactly who you are. You're pretty much the number one from Konoha, if the Hokage dropped dead right now you'd be in her office tomorrow."

"Does it bother you to know how powerful I am?" Kakashi teased. He quickly realized Rhyllo wasn't the sort for witty banter.

"I'm wanted in Konoha." Rhyllo said flatly.

"But we're not in Konoha now, are we?" Kakashi said. Rhyllo laughed and then smiled at Kakashi.

"I'm not going to get rid of you easily, am I?" Kakashi shrugged apologetically. "Then let's go. You can buy me dinner." She said, walking away. Kakashi walked next to her.

"You're quite presumptuous." He said.

"Please, we both know you just want to get in my pants."

"Ha! Shows what you know. You think I just travel around between missions screwing every girl I come across?"

"No, just the girls who play hard to get."

"Is that what you're doing?"

"Maybe. On the other hand, I could just not be interested."

"We'll see." Kakashi said. Rhyllo giggled and shook her head. Kakashi pointed to a good restaurant he'd been to before and held the door open for her.

It had been five months since Kakashi met Rhyllo. They became fast friends, and Kakashi got really down when he couldn't be with her since she wouldn't come anywhere near Konoha. Kakashi had hoped that Rhyllo would have changed her mind about him by now, but what she said when they first met still rang true, Rhyllo wasn't interested in Kakashi like that. It was really too bad, the two of them seemed every part the happy couple when they met up in a small town together. Until they went to sleep in separate hotel rooms. Rhyllo was begging Kakashi to ask the Hokage for her immunity so she could come and visit him at his home. The Hokage had finally agreed, mostly hoping that this 'Rhyllo' would be Kakashi's woman and make him happy. So Rhyllo walked through the gates of Konoha and headed for Kakashi's house. She knocked on his door and he opened it instantaneously. "How'd you do that?" She asked, walking in to his humble abode.

"I saw you coming. I was looking out my window for you." Kakashi said. "Are you hungry? I made lunch. Did you want some?"

"Yeah, thanks. You look great, by the way. How have you been?" Kakashi grabbed her bag and put it on the couch, as she took off her coat and made her way to the kitchen.

"Oh just great. I've been really great, Rhyllo. Back in the day I taught a squad of three kids. Well, one of them had some issues and was out of the country for quite some time. Then just three weeks ago, one of my other kids managed to find him and bring him back. It's like my family is back together or something. I'm on top of the world."

"You'd die happy? Right now?"

"Well, almost. I'm glad anyway."

"That's really great. How long was the kid gone for?"

"Almost five years." Rhyllo ate her lunch thoughtfully. "What do you think of Konoha?" Kakashi asked her.

"It's pretty," She said quietly. Kakashi laughed.

"You hate it here." He said humourously.

"Yeah. I wouldn't come within a hundred miles of this place if it weren't for you."

"Thanks for braving this horrible country just for me."

"Yeah, whatever." Kakashi laughed. "Are you seeing anyone now? I figured by how happy you looked when I came in...but by the looks of this place no woman has set foot here for a while." Rhyllo looked around in distain at the piles of old newspapers, upswept floors, and dirty dishes covering every surface.

"Come on, it's not that bad. And no, I'm not seeing anyone." Kakashi said. "Are you?"

"God no. No offence, Kakashi, but men are like dogs. I have to feed them, take the out all the time, give them attention, they bark at anyone who comes close, and they slobber all over me."

"You're so cynical." Kakashi said sourly.

"I'm not. It's just, I don't think an ordinary relationship would suffice for me."

"What do you mean, 'ordinary'?"

"I don't just want a boyfriend. I want my partner to be my best friend. And I don't think I can get that."

"Of course you could. You could have anything you want."

"That's not true. It takes a certain person to be able to stand me, let alone someone who would love me."

"I love you," Kakashi offered. He watched Rhyllo with big sad eyes as he gave up on any hope of Rhyllo returning his feelings.

"Sure, but you're, like, my only friend."

"Isn't that what you just said you wanted?" Kakashi said. He was being flirty now and Rhyllo could see he was turning up the charm. He had Konoha's will of fire, he could never give up on Rhyllo. All of a sudden what he had said hit her in the face like a water balloon. Kakashi was exactly what she needed. Rhyllo got up and sat on the counter right in front of Kakashi, pushing his sandwich out of her way. She hesitantly reached for his face, but he beat her there and slowly pulled down his mask. Rhyllo was slightly disappointed, she imagined his face was either scarred or extremely handsome, but he looked fairly ordinary.

"You're kind of cute," She said dreamily.

"I want to have sex with you. Would that be okay?" Kakashi said.

"You don't waste a minute, do you?" Kakashi shrugged.

"I'm just being honest," He said. She looked down to see he already had an erection.

"Okay, let's go, old man. Who knows how long that'll last." She said as she patted his crotch.

"I'll forgive you for the old joke because I think you're serious about sleeping with me."

"Oh I am. I love you, Kakashi. You're all I need. I think you're the greatest. I want to be with you." She patted his crotch again. "Let's go," She whispered.

"Wait," Kakashi said. "I _am_ old."

"No you're not. I just said that to be funny."

"I mean, I'm getting on. I don't want any moment with you from here on to be wasted. I want to marry you, Rhyllo. We're perfect for each other. I have never loved someone like I love you right now."

"My god, Kakashi." Rhyllo whispered, breathless.

"Will you marry me? Let's not spend a single day apart ever again." Kakashi plead. Rhyllo realized he was right. Kakashi was so sad when the two of them had to be separated. She thought he was just being silly, but she realized now that it really did hurt him when they couldn't' be together.

"Yeah. Let's get married." She said. Kakashi kissed her, and their first kiss lasted for just an instant, but they felt it last an eternity. "Kakashi, I'm really horny now," Rhyllo said. Kakashi kissed her neck as Rhyllo twitched all over, her pent up sexual frustration was begging to be released.

"No more bounty hunting." Kakashi said.

"No more," Rhyllo echoed. "Please, Kakashi," He brought her upstairs to his bedroom. She started taking her clothes off and she thought back to the last time she had sex. It had been years. Many years. She felt nervous all of a sudden, but she looked at Kakashi's sweet face smiling at her and that was all the reassurance she needed. Wearing only her panties now, she crawled across the bed to help Kakashi take off his clothes.

"I want you to come live with me." Kakashi said.

"I'm not living with you in this dump." Rhyllo pulled off his t-shirt and threw it in a pile of clothes in the corner of the room. He was taking off his pants now, but Rhyllo stared at his perfectly sculpted chest. It was beautiful; it was like she was in bed with a male underwear model or something. He was sexy. Aside from the fact that his eyes were mismatched and there was a light scar on his face, he could have been pulled from a magazine. Rhyllo looked down to see he was completely naked now and she unconsciously reached to squeeze his firm muscular thighs that were twice the size of her own. "You're so hot," She said. It was easy to forget this guy was a ninja, in perfect physical condition. Although Rhyllo was also a ninja, she never was very fit. She was just pretty average.

Rhyllo lied down on the bed and Kakashi hovered over her, taking off her panties which were already slightly wet from fantasising about his gorgeous body.

"I haven't done this for a while," Kakashi said, frowning. "But it's like riding a bike, right? You can't forget?"

"Yeah, let's hope so for both our sakes." Kakashi hesitated, hovering over her with his arms on either side of her holding him up. "Do you need a refresher or something?" She rubbed his sides and opened her legs up around him. "Come on, Kakashi." She pled softly. "What's wrong?"

"I just can't believe I'm in bed with you now. I love you, Rhyllo." He tried to get into a better position and then he found it.

"I love you too," Rhyllo said.

Rhyllo knew Kakashi liked kids, he taught them and cared very much for team seven, and she was sure that he wanted a few of his own. She sighed, elated at the news she got from her doctor that morning. Rhyllo didn't want to waste a minute, so she left her house to go find Kakashi. She wandered down to team seven's usual training place and there they all were. Kakashi was being yelled at by Naruto, Sakura was complaining to nobody in particular and Sasuke sat gloomily off to the side. "Hey guys!" She called, jogging over. Kakashi smiled at her and the rest of his team stared in awe of her. They never got used to 'someone as beautiful as you marrying such a pervert.' as Sakura put it.

"Hello!" Naruto said. He was so cute when he was calm and polite.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have something to tell you guys."

"You're taking Naruto away and giving us someone who behaves instead?" Kakashi offered. Sasuke smirked. Rhyllo laughed.

"Better than that. I'm pregnant."

"Finallly." Sakura said. Sasuke gave her a genuine smile which Rhyllo had never seen before and would never forget.

"That didn't take too long!" Naruto said.

"You _told_ them?" Rhyllo shouted at Kakashi. "You told them we were trying?"

"Rhyllo, dear, they're family. They had to know."

"What are you going to call it? Can I help deliver it?" Sakura said. She started freaking out in excitement. Naruto punched his sensei in the arm.

"Good work! I would never have thought you had it in you-"

"Shut up, Naruto." Kakashi said. "You guys can go home now, we'll meet tomorrow, same time same place. I'm going to walk my beautiful pregnant wife home." He put his arm around Rhyllo's shoulder and walked away. She waved to his team, who started arguing about something soon after you left.


	10. Deidara and Isis

**Deidara + Isis**

Isis was in her third year at the local university in Iwakakure. She already had a bachelor of fine arts, but she couldn't really get a job without an 'actual' degree, so she was majoring in philosophy this time around. She was on her way to her favourite class, aesthetic philosophy. She felt herself getting giddy as she entered the lecture hall and took a seat in the back. There was this androgynous and eerily sexy guy in this class who drove Isis completely mental. He had long blonde hair, covering half of his face. All that was visible was one big, sky blue eye and his beautiful full lips. Isis considered herself full grown, but this guy...he made her feel like a teenager again. Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched him come in and sit a few rows ahead of her. She watched him in a daze, every moment wishing that she was sitting next to him. He looked like an artist, too.

"Welcome, class." The professor began. Isis grudgingly tore her gaze from the beautiful creature in front of her to her ordinary looking prof. "We're going to pick up where we left off last time. No more questions about what art is, please. You may ask about that closer to the mid-term but we're going to move past that now. Today we're continuing with the debate about how art should exist in our world. Should art aim to be everlasting or fleeting?"

The lecture was long, but very interesting. Isis took more notes than usual. This was a touchy subject for her. On the one hand, she would like to think art is everlasting. But art is just a component of short, mortal lives, and as such, art should reflect that. She clutched her books to her stomach and slowly walked away from campus and towards her apartment.

"Interesting lecture, eh? What are your thoughts on the matter?" Isis heard a deep voice walking slightly behind ask this poignant question. She turned around and was horrified to see the androgynous creature she beloved so much was talking to her. She had rehearsed this moment a thousand times in her head. She blushed and tucked some stray hair behind her ear.

"I think that art is temporary. It's not subtle, it's loud, abrubt, forceful..."

"...a bang, right?"

"Yeah. I guess. I can find reasons for art to be eternal, but it just doesn't make much sense. I truly believe art is fleeting. What about you?"

"I feel the same way. It's so refreshing to hear you describe it like that. I hate it when people try to preserve art because it's somehow so much better than modern art. You're beautiful." He said. Isis laughed. "What's your name?"

"I'm Isis." She said.

"My name's Deidara. You're not busy now, are you?"

"No, that was my last class." Isis stopped walking and gave Deidara a good look-over. He was even more beautiful up close. He was tall and thin, and his chin was small and round. She swallowed hard. Isis wanted him so badly.

"Could I persuade you to come to dinner with me tonight?"

"Let's skip the foreplay. Come over to my place." Deidara grinned and laughed.

"Right now?"

"Yes." Isis was surprised to hear how bold she sounded. And presumptuous! She didn't even stop to think if this guy liked her at all. Maybe he was gay, she didn't know anything about him and she pretty much just invited him into her bed.

"Alright. Let's go, then."

It had been three months since Deidara came over to Isis's apartment. Since then they became a couple. Every day, Isis woke up and was surprised to see this enigma on her pillow. At first she couldn't believe her luck, but slowly she started to make sense of it all. Her and Deidara were almost identical. They lived for their art, they were passionate, they had the same graceful air, and they were both very good looking. They were also both very feminine. School had just ended, and they had a long summer ahead of them before Isis started her final year. Deidara had a strange habit of disappearing for a few days on end, and then coming home to Isis on some high. At first she thought he was a drug addict, it happens to people often in the art community, but she soon realised he wasn't. She was still puzzled about what he was up to, and he shut her out when she asked about it. She thought it had something to do with the creepy mouths he had on his hands and the scar on his chest. She felt dread in her gut about the whole situation.

"Isis?" Deidara asked. He appeared in the doorway, after being gone for four days. Isis did not greet him, instead she continued to eat her breakfast while reading the morning paper. "Isis, darling. What's wrong?" Isis sighed and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes.

"What do you think is wrong, Dei?"

"Alright, fine. You want to know the truth about me right?"

"I'm afraid to know." Deidara grabbed Isis around the shoulders and her eyes widened in shock.

"Isis, don't say that. I'm not what you think I am. I'm not a druggie."

"I know." Isis shrugged his hands off of her and she grabbed her empty plate and brought it over to the sink. He followed her and when she was done he literally picked her up and walked with her over his shoulder into the bedroom. He placed her on the bed, put his hands on her shoulders and one thigh on either side of her.

"I love you, Isis. I've never told anyone what I'm about to tell you. You know my little exploding sculptures?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, I make them in big sizes. And people like to buy them. They use them for...well, I don't know exactly what for."

"Oh my god,"

"Isis,"

"You're the terrorist they're all talking about. You're a criminal, Deidara. You've killed people."

"I'm a shinobi, of course I've killed people." Deidara replied darkly. "I'm not exactly proud of what I do, but it's what I do. I can't live without it. This is my art, and I will let it be appreciated anyway it can." Isis started to cry, and when Deidara saw Isis crying, he started crying too. Isis looked him right in his blue eyes.

"I love you anyway." She whispered. "Nothing could keep me from you." Deidara laughed and cried happily.

"For once in my life, I see pure love staring right back...right back at me. At me." Isis smiled. He was reciting their poem. They wrote it together one evening a few weeks ago, when Isis complained that the wimpy recitation of 'I love you' wasn't strong enough to convey her feelings. "You are my angel, you are my diamond, you are my guiding light."

"I've seen the future, I've been to the bottom, but you keep my head above." Isis said.

"You are my Jesus, You are my saviour, You are all that is love." Isis quickly wiped her face dry. "Speaking of diamonds," Deidara said. "I got you a little bauble while I was gone." Deidara fished in his pocket and took out a small box. He slid off of Isis and onto the floor, kneeling in front of her. "I knew that if you could accept me for who I am, then you were the only one for me. There can't be anyone in this world who could make me happier than you. I love you terribly, Isis. I want you to be mine forever." He took the lid off the box and inside was a tiny, thin, silver band. In the center was a small, blue diamond. "Will you do me the immense honour of marrying me?" Deidara asked quietly. Isis shook her head with disbelief.

"Is this a dream?" She asked rhetorically. She lied down, leaving Deidara on his knees next to the bed. "What's the rush? I've only known you a few months."

"What's the point of waiting? We're in love."

"Love is like our art, Deidara. It won't last forever." Isis said.

"Don't say that."

"It's true! It's true and you know it."

"No. I don't believe that for a second. True love never dies. I will always love you." Isis sat up and Deidara sat on the bed with her. He put his arm around her, and she put her hand in his lap. He slid the ring on her finger and smiled with satisfaction.

"Let's get this over with as soon as possible." Isis said.

"We'll get married tomorrow." Deidara replied. He kissed Isis deeply. She was suddenly reminded at how physically attracted to Deidara she was when they first met. Those feelings flooded back as she felt a heat that was burning to have him inside of her. He could sense her change and he slipped the straps of her dress off of her shoulders. It was nine in the morning, Isis was already late for work. They made love the rest of the day anyway and didn't put clothes on until the next day, when Isis went to work completely tired from not sleeping and explained to her boss she was too sick to come in yesterday.

When Isis got back home from work, she ran to her bed and went to sleep. She woke up at four the next morning. Deidara wasn't anywhere in the apartment. Isis was worried that he had left again. Then Isis took a good look around her at the apartment. Chairs were turned over, coffee was spilled on the counter from a broken mug, papers and magazines were on the floor everywhere. Isis didn't have to be a shinobi to realize there had been a struggle in her apartment. Suddenly filled with fear, she ran out of the apartment and to the police station nine blocks away. She was still wearing her work clothes, but she had been in such a hurry that she was barefoot. "I need to report a missing person!" She said breathlessly to an officer at the front desk.

Five months pregnant and with a fiancé declared a missing-nin, Isis left Iwakakure. The memories were too painful. Two months into school she couldn't take it, and gave up on getting her second degree. She packed nothing but a change of clothes and her entire savings. She emptied Deidara's bank account, too. She ended up in Konoha, rented a small apartment, and bought baby clothes, a crib, and more diapers than any one store would every carry. One morning, a few days after moving in, she had another craving for ramen. She decided to go to her new favourite stand in town. She walked a few blocks down her street when it came into view. She took a seat, the only customer inside. "Hello," She said to the noodle-man.

"Hello, Isis. What would you like?"

"Miso ramen, please." She said. A man came and sat next to her at the stand and ordered something. Then, a woman she took to be the noodle-man's daughter brought two bowls of miso ramen to Isis and the man beside her.

"Hi! I'm Naruto." The man greeted Isis. He smiled widely and he involuntarily smiled back.

"Hi. I'm Isis." She said. He looked down at her belly.

"Wow, are you pregnant?"

"I'm five months along." Isis told him.

"Boy or girl?"

"Both," Isis said solemnly. "I'm having twins."

"Wow! That's a handful." Naruto and Isis started eating their ramen. "Where are you from? Wait, don't tell me, Iwakakure?" Isis was surprised.

"Yeah, I am. How can you tell?"

"Well, you're beautiful. The Iwa are well built." Isis started at Naruto. He started back, eyes full of curiosity. Aside from the weird, paint brush strokes on his cheeks, he kind of looked like Deidara. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Isis sadly looked down to her ramen. "What's wrong?" Naruto asked. Isis was a little taken aback at how friendly Naruto was.

"Nothing." Isis said, she ate her ramen some more. "I don't know why I'm eating this, I used to hate ramen, but since I've been pregnant I can't get enough." Isis said, trying to change the subject.

"I've always liked ramen. It's pretty much the only thing I eat." Naruto watched Isis eat. She was amazing. Maybe all women look good when they're pregnant, but everything Isis did was beautiful and graceful. Like she was from a painting. She was the complete opposite of Naruto. She moved fluidly. If Naruto tried to imitate her movements, he'd look like a retard; it just wouldn't suit him. But this Isis was like a freeking swan or something. "Can I ask you a question? I bet you get this all the time, but I'd really like to be your friend, and as your friend it's a perfectly normal question."

"But you're not my friend now, are you?"

"Can I be from now on?" Isis laughed.

"Okay, friend. Ask away, but I think I already know what you want to know."

"...father," Naruto asked. "I guess I want to know if you're single is all." Isis breathed deeply, unsure of how to explain her predicament.

"Five months ago," she began. "No, must begin earlier. I was almost finished my third year in philosophy when I met a man. He was perfect, except he was like me. We loved each other. He asked me to marry him a few months later. The next day, I saw that our apartment was in shambles, like he had been in a struggle, or someone had looked in our apartment for something. He used to go out of town for a few days on end, then return, but I had this feeling that he wasn't coming back. Like he couldn't. Like someone was standing between him and I. A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant.

"I made plans to come here, rent an apartment and such, and I found out I was having twins. So I stayed a bit longer than I wanted to, making sure to sell everything I had, and empty all my accounts. I had to drop out of school. And I came here. I haven't seen or heard anything about him since that night he proposed. I just left for work, came back, and my life was upside down." Isis was surprised to find herself spilling her guts to a complete stranger, but Naruto seemed like someone Isis could trust. Besides, they were friends now.

"What do you think happened?" Isis knew exactly what had happened. He must have gotten into some sort of trouble with his illicit art sales. Someone must have killed him. Isis shrugged and fished around in her bowl for the last few pieces of tofu. "Isis, if there's anything I can do for you, let me know. You're my friend now. I want to help you-"

"I don't need help."

Isis grew fond of Naruto, and he hung around her all the time. When he wasn't busy training, he came to her house as early as she would open the door for him, and he left when she went to sleep. He kept asking how he could help her, but she flat out refused. She enjoyed his company, but she wanted her kids to know that their mom was strong for them, and did it all on her own.

"I want to be there for you." Naruto repeated for the hundredth time to Isis, one night at her house. She was a few days late now, and she was due to pop at any moment.

"Why are you so interested?" Isis laughed. "What is it about me that you feel the need to hold my hand through it all? I'm a smart girl, Naruto. I have almost two degrees. Anything you can do you can do, I can do better." Naruto was quiet for a moment while Isis watched him.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I grew up without parents, Isis. I see that you're hurt because you're fiancé is gone. That's going to affect your kids if you live life looking over your shoulder for him. I want to be there so you and your kids have someone."

"You are no substitute for a father, Naruto." Isis said sternly.

"I know, that's not what I mean."

"I wanna go for a walk." Isis said. She tried to get up, and Naruto was beside her in a flash, helping her off the couch. Isis opened her eyes wide as she felt wet trickle down her legs and an unbelievable pain in her abdomen. "Oh no," She said.

"HOLY FUCK! They're coming!" Naruto yelled. Slowly and gently, he picked her up and carried her out of her apartment, walking quickly towards the hospital. "Holy fuck, Holy fuck," Naruto muttered.

"I can walk." Isis said, refusing to hold onto him as he carried her. Naruto ignored her.

"Hopefully they're expecting you." He said. He kicked open the doors of the emergency room and half a dozen orderlies and nurses teetered over to them. Twelve hours later, Isis was finished pushing out her kids. It felt like she had the million-year flu. She had the chills and was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. She told Naruto to name the twins, and she fell asleep. Naruto stood at the counter with the nurse. "Can't you wait for her to wake up again?"

"She asked you to do it. Don't you want to pick their names? You're the father, right?" Naruto stared at the nurse for an entire minute, eyes wide, not saying anything. His mind raced at top speed.

"Yeah." He said decisively.

"With all that blonde hair, they sure look like you." The nurse said. "So, what are you going to call them?"

"The girl is...Raina. And the boy...is...River." The nurse wrote them down and gave the birth certificates to Naruto, who walked back into the room where Isis was. She opened her eyes when she heard him come in.

"How long have I been asleep?" She asked.

"Like, twenty minutes." Naruto said. "I named them." He handed the birth certificates to Isis who snatched them and greedily looked at them.

"Raina and River?"

"Is that okay?"

"That's perfect. Thanks so much." Isis looked at the certificates some more. "Uh, Naruto. They wrote you down as the father." Isis said. Naruto looked at Isis. He put his hands in his pockets and switched the weight from one leg to the other, staring at her. Isis' eyes widened. "You can't mean that." Isis said.

"Believe it."

"But we can't, it's a lie." Isis said.

"If you give this to me, Isis, I will give you all I have and more. There is nothing I want more than you," He pointed to the two babies in the plastic crib next to her. "And them. If you let me be in your family, I promise that you will have me forever." Isis heard his words and knew that they were not empty promises. Naruto was strong willed and true, and Isis trusted him. Raina gurgled from the crib. Naruto and Isis looked over.

"You can hold her." Isis said. Naruto carefully picked her up and brought her over to Isis so she could see her daughter. "Look at your blonde hair," Isis said, petting Raina's head. "Just like daddy's," Naruto's eyes met her gaze and Isis softly ran her fingers through Naruto's hair.

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What Deidara told Isis was the truth; true love never dies. There wasn't a month that went by her whole life after the twins that she didn't think about Deidara. Her love for him ran deep. Naruto became a father for Raina and River. He loved them more than he could have loved his own children. By the time the twins were two, Naruto became the Hokage, and he asked Isis to marry him. Thinking only of her children and of Naruto's reputation, Isis accepted. The first kiss she shared with Naruto was on their wedding day. Isis began to love him just as much as he loved her, and with each year that passed, Naruto slowly filled the void Deidara had left in Isis' heart.

_Isis + Deidara's poem is from the song "The Guide" by Borne_


	11. Kankuro and Noro

**Kankuro + Noro **

Noro was slightly drunk and very high. Her band was playing in fifteen minutes, so she was occupying her time by giving a blow job to the hot bass player from the last band. She couldn't remember this guy's name, not even the name of his band. Ten minutes later, the guy came all over her face. She leaned back and swallowed the bit that was left in her mouth, and wiped her chin off with the back of her hand as best she could. She saw her drummer/roomate peer around the corner at her and he made a gesture indicating they had to take the stage. "I gotta go," Noro said to the guy.

"Noro, wait, where are you going?" Noro tried to walk straight, but she wasn't used to being this high, so she wobbled slightly. She wobbled as quick as she could, following her drummer, the guy she just blew was calling after her. What was his name? Did it start with a C? Noro heard the din of the crowd get a little louder as she followed her band mates onstage and she grabbed her guitar from a stage hand.

"Noro, are you okay?" The lead guitar and singer, Senji, asked her. He took one good look at her and saw that she was high as a kite. He wiped something off her face with his sleeve. "Plug in, Noro." Senji said. Noro nodded her head and it instantly cleared. All that mattered now was to show everyone how much all the other bands sucked in comparison to theirs.

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Noro's roommate/drummer walked home with her she passed out when she got onto her bed. Two days later the effects of her partying wore off and she started to feel normal again. She swore to never get that high ever. She had a shift that morning at the hospital, so she woke up at six thirty, took a shower and assessed how much her head hurt. It was the pits. She took some pain killers, wrapped up her long wet hair in a bun, and went to work. Noro was a doctor, but she didn't have much experience. She was more of the research type, but Sunagakure was short of doctors and research budgets were too tight. Noro hoped to be back in the lab in a few years, but for now she was stuck in the hospital.

"You look like hell," One of Noro's favourite nurses told her as she clocked in for her shift.

"Thanks." Noro replied scathingly.

"You've got a guy in the ER you need to see right away." The nurse said. "He's high profile, he's the brother of the Kazekage. He's hurt kind of bad, I think it would be good if you went to see him."

"Alright I'll go now." She walked down the hall with her buddy and he looked at her, worried.

"I think you need to rest when you get home, Noro. Were you partying all weekend?"

"No, just Friday night I played at the battle of the bands."

"And?"

"And I got a little carried away. Whatever, I'm fine now." He held open the door to the Er for her and she walked inside. The only patient in the ER was sitting up on his bed naked from the waist up. He had bandages on his back that were already bloodied. Noro walked around to introduce herself to him, but could barely manage the words as she recognized the bass player guy with the "c" name.

"Good morning, I'm Doctor Morimoto. How are you feeling?" She asked. The guy looked at her and the shock on his face melted into a wide smile.

"'Morning, Noro. Look at you, you're a full on doctor!" He smiled wider and looked her up and down, clearly impressed. "You clean up good."

"So we're not going to pretend that we don't know each other." Noro said. She dismissed her nurse friend and the two of them were left alone.

"Of course we know each other. I had no idea you could play, I thought you were one of my groupies. I didn't see you after your set, though, I wanted to tell you that you were great."

"Yeah, I know I was." The guy laughed but then it faded into a coughing fit. Noro saw him cough up blood into his fist.

"What happened to you? Lie down." He did as she told him to and she started feeling his chest to see what was wrong.

"I lost a fight, that's all."

"Were you crushed?"

"Yeah. I think so." Noro ran her fingers down his ribcage firmly and she saw his face screw up in pain.

"You've got three broken ribs and the rest are bruised." She at looked his face and smiled as she remembered how good-looking he was. She saw some dried blood around his nostrils. "Does your throat feel funny?"

"Yeah, like something's trickling down it."

"Good. I think the blood you coughed up was just a nose bleed going down your throat." Noro grabbed his chart at the end of the bed and signed off on it. She looked on the sheet for his name. "You're going to be fine, Kankuro. You'll need to take it easy so your ribs heal properly. I'll send someone in to redress your wounds."

"Thanks, Noro." Kankuro said.

"Don't mention it. See you around."

Much later in the day, Noro was in her office, researching idly when she heard someone knock on her door. She looked up and Kankuro was grinning in her door way.

"When do you get off?" He asked Noro. She looked at the clock. It was four, she was off at three.

"It seems like I'm never off." Noro closed the book she had in front of her and rubbed her eyes. "You feeling okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I'm great." She sat in her chair staring at him as he smiled back at her. "My sister and I are cooking tonight at our house. Do you like Italian? I'd really like for you to come. If you'd like to, I mean. Or we could go out for dinner, if you rather." Kankuro said. Noro took off her white lab coat and grabbed her bag.

"You had me at 'Italian.'" Noro said. She walked out with Kankuro, and he put his arm around her, as he told her all about his cooking prowess.

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It had been a whole year since Noro met Kankuro, and they had been together ever since their second meeting in the hospital. They were both party animals and rock stars at heart, but liked to live a normal life, too. They were a perfect fit for each other. Noro was sure she was in love. Although Noro had lots to do at the hospital, and Kankuro was always away, it's just like they say; absence makes the heart grow fonder. After not seeing each other for a week or two, they would keep either Kankuro's siblings or Noro's roommate up all night. Noro was a screamer and Kankuro wasn't much better. They worked hard during the week, played shows on the weekends, and had sex whenever they had the time. Lately Noro felt really strange. Her appetite was strange; she would either starve herself or overeat. She felt a weak nausea in the mornings until about noon when she felt dead tired. On her day off, she bought a couple at-home pregnancy tests and she urinated on all of them, each time hoping the next would give her the answer she wanted to see. After several attempts to disprove the truth, she left her apartment bewildered. This didn't make any sense. She took oral contraceptives every morning; it was completely impossible for her to get pregnant. She walked to Kankuro's house and walked inside with her own key.

"Hey!" Temari greeted her cheerfully. She had on a knowing smile, which bothered Noro. The two of them never got along very well, so this act of Temari's was suspicious indeed.

"Hello, Temari."

"Kankuro's in his workshop," She said with a grin. She came up to Noro and gave her a hug. Noro awkwardly patted Temari's back and waited for her to explain why she was squeezing her with her body. "I'm sorry, you know, I've never been very nice to you. I just thought, because my brother's such a pervert, that you were-you know."

"No, I don't know."

"Okay, I thought you were a slut."

"Excuse me?"

"But I'm sorry! I've gotten to know you so much better in the past few weeks from Kankuro. You're an amazing woman and I'm so glad that you're with my brother." Noro could not think of how to address this. She wanted to slap her, but she knew Temari was actually a shinobi and no matter how mad Noro was, she couldn't beat Temari under any circumstance. Noro just turned and walked downstairs even more confused than she was before she got there. She knocked loudly on Kankuro's door.

"Kankuro, It's me!" She yelled. He had loud music on, and there must have been a saw or a drill he was using. Then the buzzing stopped and the bass stopped strumming and Kankuro swung open the door.

"Hey beautiful, I was just going to come and get you. I thought you would still be sleeping off last night." He let her into his room and Noro plopped down on his familiar bed.

"Last night wasn't so bad."

"You got so tanked you tried to convince me you were a guy."

"Right, now I remember. That's why my ass kind of hurts."

"I want to take you out tonight."

"Kuro, I came over because I have something I need to tell you."

"Oh, well, can it wait until tonight?"

"I'd rather tell you now." Kankuro came and laid down on the bed, putting his head in her lap. She played with his hair gently.

"I love you, Noro." He mumbled.

"Kankuro, we're pregnant." Noro said. Kankuro sat up quickly.

"Are you serious?" He asked, grinning from ear to ear. Noro looked curiously at him, and cocked her head to the side. This was so not the reaction she had anticipated.

"Yes, I'm pregnant. I don't know how it happened, though." Noro frowned and Kankuro kissed her forehead.

"It usually happens when people have sex, baby, that's the whole point."

"Dumbass, I meant that I'm on the pill; I shouldn't get pregnant."

"Huh, well, that is weird. Are you-I mean, you're gonna keep it, right?"

"Yeah. You're gonna be with me, right?"

"Obviously, I'd never leave you. I love you."

"Love you too." Noro smiled at Kankuro. He lifted her dress up to stare at her stomach. He gently poked it around, but it just tickled and Noro squirmed. "Oh my gosh, so when I just came in, your sister was talking to me. She, like, hugged me. Like wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. I had no idea what to do. She's all like, making amends or something. It's as if she suddenly has a reason to like me. Do you know what's up with her?" Kankuro looked uncomfortable. He shook his head slowly.

"No, I have no idea what's up with her. Maybe we should avoid her for now." Kankuro suggested.

"Will you walk me to the hospital?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I think I have a hunch on what might have happened."

"Sure thing." The two of them slunk out of the house, careful to avoid Temari. When they got to the hospital, Kankuro took a nap on the couch in Noro's office as she pulled out her file. She wrote down every ingredient in her birth control pills and hit the books. Three weeks ago, Noro had been bitten by a snake while she was camping with Kankuro. She had to take anti-venom for it.

"What are you doing, Noro?" Kankuro woke up from his cat-nap, bleary eyed, about an hour after they got to the hospital.

"I cross-referenced all ingredients in my pills to see if any of them could be cancelled out by that anti-venom I had to take."

"There's no way that could happen."

"It must have. Look at this, the anti-venom had trace amounts of a compound that breaks down the key medicinal ingredient in my contraceptives. I should publish that..."

"You can publish later, let's go already."

"Where're we going?"

"Let's go hang out on my roof like we used to!" Kankuro brought Noro up to his roof and they picnicked together as they watched the sunset. "What do you want to name it?" Kankuro asked.

"Fuck that. I don't want to think about it yet. I'm worried about work." Noro said. Kankuro shrugged.

"People go on mat-leave all the time. It'll be fine." Kankuro looked at Noro seriously and she was a little freaked out. "You understand that now you _have _to move in with me." Noro laughed.

"Alright Alright fine. How long did that take?"

"I wanted you to move in eight months ago."

"Well, you finally got your wish." Kankuro pumped his fist up in the air in victory.

"You know Temari and Gaara will be too happy to help us."

"Yeah, of course. I'm sure Gaara is going to be great with kids." Kankuro bit his lip and stared at Noro. "What is it?" She asked him.

"Will you marry me?" He asked quietly. Noro frowned.

"No, if we're gonna get married it'll be because we want to, not because you feel guilty about this," Noro put her hand on her tummy. He took a small box out of his pocket.

"I've wanted to ask you for a while, that's why Temari was all weird, because she thinks you're gonna be her sister." Kankuro opened up the box and Noro instinctively reached for the ring. It was beautiful, and Kankuro slid it on her finger. "It was my mum's." He said. Noro smirked with satisfaction that she was the one to inherit the family heirloom. Not that bitch Temari.

"It's beautiful," Noro said apologetically, "But I don't think I can marry you." She took it off, but Kankuro took it and put it on her right hand. "Why?"

"I can survive your rejection as long as you promise that one day you will marry me."

"Look, Kankuro. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. But I don't want to marry you right now, when I'm pregnant and still kind of young. Let's get married when we're older."

"Well, I think that's bull shit, but whatever makes you happy." Kankuro pouted.

"It's too soon!" Noro said.

"We've been together an entire year!"

"I love you."

"I know." He said. He laid down and sighed. Noro laid down next to him and he cuddled up to her.

"Let's stay here tonight, I don't want to tell anyone until tomorrow."

"Sure." He held Noro closer and she tucked her head under his. "I love you Noro. You know I'd do anything for you. This whole waiting thing is like a fucking slap in the face. I'm going to try to understand you, but you need to know how hard this is for me. I want so badly to be with you."

"You _are_ with me. You don't need a wedding ring for our relationship to be tangible.

"But it looks like-"

"Who gives a fuck what it looks like. They don't know what we've been through. They don't know anything about me and you." Kankuro kissed Noro hard on the lips and started crying. "You're the best, Kuro." Noro said.

"Whatever." Noro giggled.

"I luff you!" She said.

"I luff you too."


End file.
